Yesterday, I attended a session that left a lasting impression. It wasn’t about business growth, leadership metrics, or engagement surveys. It was about something harder to quantify—but critical to our resilience: the ability to hold joy and pain at the same time.
Not alternating between the two. Not stuffing one down. But allowing both to exist in parallel—within us, and within the moments we’re living.
That lesson became personal this month.
Someone incredibly dear to me—the kind of friend you drop everything for and talk with about the real stuff over many long coffees—received serious medical news. She’s long been someone I look up to. The kind of woman I want to be more like in the next 20 years. A role model, a friend, a world adventurer, a trusted confidante. The news really shook me.
It also challenged me to re-tune the dial—to lower the volume on the outside noise (the daily news and the drama) and turn up the volume on presence, support, and reflection.
At the very same time, I’ve been trekking across South Florida, meeting with hospital CXOs for a client project. The return to in-person connection has been electric. Strategy that sparks. Conversations with impact. It’s reminded me why I love what I do. And yes—after a long stretch on Zoom calls—it finally feels like I’m back in the field continuing the consulting work I love.
And then, there’s Luci—our Covid-era rescue pup. When I walk in the door at night, she flops on the bed with pure euphoria, tail thumping like she just won the lottery. All she wants is a back rub and my attention. In that moment, she is joy. No filter. No timeline. Just now.
“The cure for pain is in the pain.” – Rumi “There is a crack in everything, that’s how the light gets in.” – Leonard Cohen “Life is full of unbearable things, but we bear them anyway. And sometimes, we even dance in spite of it.” – Unknown
Whether you’re leading a team, supporting a loved one, or simply trying to stay grounded, you’re likely being asked to hold both right now. The weight and the wonder. The ache and the aliveness.
Joy these days feels less like a default and more like a choice. A courageous one.
“Life Happens, Happiness Is Optional”
📣 I’ll leave you with this: Where are you being stretched emotionally, and how are you making room for both?
#leadership #emotionalintelligence #resilience #mentoring #twomentor #consultinglife #gritandgrace #joyandpain
