Here where I live in the United States, Reader, we're approaching one of my favorite holidays: Independence Day. 🎇

Most people call it "the Fourth of July" or even the shortened "the 4th." But that bugs me. We don't call Christmas "the 25th of December" or New Year's Day "the first of January."

We give them names that have meaning.

So I've always pondered how we started calling this holiday by its date, not its name.

(Fun fact for your potluck trivia game: founding father John Adams thought we should celebrate July 2, when the vote for independence was ratified, rather than the 4th, when the document was signed. And the actual agreement with Britain for independence wasn't signed until September 3, 1783. All of which makes me wonder about celebrating the date and not the reason even more. But I digress. 🤦🏽‍♀️)

The only conclusion I've ever come up with is that we get conflicted about the word "independence."

Most everyone I've ever met wants independence in some way. And at the same time, they don't want to be all alone (even the introverts, really!).

It seems inconsistent, I know. But truth is, we see this push/pull tension in our workplaces all the time, right?

• We want more connection... and we don't want to have to have days filled with meetings and calls.
• We want freedom to make decisions about our work... and we want our leaders to provide more guidance on what to do.
• We want a unified team... and we want everyone to be themselves.

No wonder work gets so darn confusing.

We're always dealing with paradoxes.

We want to be independent... together.

But how? It may mean slowing down, prioritizing people over projects, and asking bigger, deeper questions (like the ones here) about what our teammates, staff, or even potential hires, need.

It may mean asking those questions of ourselves, and getting even more comfortable being uncomfortable.​

It means accepting that we can want one thing (surround myself with awesome people!) AND a thing that seems contrary (be 100% alone, save for a good book.)

What about you, Reader? What paradoxes are you seeing in your life at work? Where do you want one thing and its apparent opposite? And most importantly, what does independence mean to YOU?

That's a lot of q's--pick one and just hit REPLY —I always love hearing from you. 📫

I'm glad to be here with you, independently together. And for all of my US friends who celebrate, Happy Independence Day! 🧨

Always, Darcy

P.S. For almost everyone except my friends wintering Down Under, it's hot-hot-hot in a lot of places right now. Why not cool off with a beverage and a book? I wrote "Red Cape Rescue: Save Your Career Without Leaving Your Job" as an easy, breezy, but valuable read, and I know you'll walk away with tools you can use to create a better life at work, no matter what's happening in your job or company. Get yours here, and send me a pic of your summer reading place! --D