Talking Polarities: From Just Either/Or to Supplementing Either/Or with Both/And

Margaret Cary, MD MBA MPH PCC and Cliff Kayser, MSOD, MSHR, PCC

“I’m so exhausted. I love my patients, but caring for them gets in the way of time with my family.

I have young kids and I want to be there for them. My dad was always at work and I barely remember him. I don’t want that to happen to my kids.”

Does this sound familiar?

Which comes first, your professional life or your personal life?

Answer: They both do – but at different times. When the tension between professional and personal is poorly leveraged over time, both will suffer as a result. If we step back far enough, what we’re likely to see is that the dynamic tension between the two fell into the “Either/Or” category of a problem to solve. A simple reframe that could make big difference in success, is the thinking that’s being applied – rather than EITHER one OR the other, think, “How might I leverage this tension to get the benefits of BOTH Professional AND Personal Lives, to support  wellbeing? This reframe is important – whatever your profession.

Work with us here as we walk you through creating your own Polarity Map, using Professional and Personal Lives as an example.

Here’s a blank map.