Feeling Both By Design

Grateful and Stressed? You’re Not Alone

You know the days when you leave the house in a sweater, wish for a tank top by noon, and reach for that sweater again after sunset?

It’s the season of layering up and down, depending on the moment. And honestly, our emotions aren’t so different. Lately, it feels more natural to answer “How are you?” with a soft, honest mix of “I’m grateful… and a little worn out."

Recently, I was sitting on an interview panel, searching for my successor as I transitioned into a new role. As these panels go, I was asking questions, holding space, and co-deciding the next step in someone else’s growth. Being on this side of the table felt good, and it was one I didn’t take for granted.

And still, there was a quiet stress sitting with me throughout those interviews. I was grateful for the opportunity to hire somone and at the same time I couldn’t ignore the weight I was feeling about the current state of employment in general, and in that moment in education; the uncertainty, the imbalance, the exhaustion that so many are carrying.

Both feelings were true. Both lived in my body at once.

And it got me thinking…

We’re not taught how to name that emotional overlap — how to honor what’s going well while still holding space for what feels heavy.

But life rarely moves in a straight line. It’s layered. Complex. A rhythm of moments that can feel both full and fragile, light and loaded, meaningful and messy — all at once.

So in today’s share, I’m exploring what it might look like to sit with more than one feeling and to let that tension guide us, not confuse us.

Awareness Builds Curiosity

We often think of emotions as if they’re in conflict, like one has to cancel out the other.

But what if our feelings aren’t meant to compete at all?

What if gratitude and stress, along with so many others, are simply companions on the same path, each revealing something real and worth noticing?

Holding multiple truths at once could look like:

• Being glad to have a job, but grieving that it’s not the job you want.

• Being grateful for family time, yet craving a break to remember who you are outside of caretaking.

• Enjoying quiet moments at home, while holding heaviness about what’s happening in the world.

This is more common than most of us admit out loud. We just don’t always know how to talk about it.

But emotions don’t always ask for resolution.

Sometimes they just ask to be seen.

Explore: Taking the Next Step

When two seemingly opposite emotions show up at once, it’s easy to feel like something must be off.

But what if the tension itself is information?

You carry an internal GPS. A quiet system that signals when something is aligned and when it’s not. You might notice:

• Satisfaction when your energy is well-spent

• Frustration when effort doesn’t lead to the outcome you hoped for

• Peace when life flows naturally

• Anger or bitterness when something feels off or out of sync

• Success when you feel at ease and seen in a situation

• Disappointment when reality falls short of what you imagined

You feel it when things click, when decisions land, energy flows, and your pace feels just right.

And you feel it when something’s off, when pressure builds, fatigue creeps in, or you're moving through resistance you can’t quite name.

That doesn’t mean you’re doing something wrong.

It often means something is asking to be noticed.

You might feel pulled to keep showing up, even as part of you longs to pause.

You might be lit up by a project, while quietly uneasy about the pace it demands.

You might feel grounded in one part of life, and stretched thin in another.

Here’s the part most people miss:

You can feel both at the same time.

Gratitude might be your system’s way of saying, “Something here is working.”

Stress might be whispering, “But something still needs adjusting.”

You don’t have to resolve it all. But you can begin by noticing.

Try asking:

• What feels life-giving right now?

• Where am I feeling tight, tense, or pressured?

• Is the discomfort coming from within, or from an expectation that’s not mine to carry?

These questions aren’t meant to solve the moment.

They’re meant to guide you through it.

Because that emotional tension? It’s often showing you the edge of what’s still working—and what’s quietly asking for change.

Discover: Listening Between the Lines

If you're feeling stretched in different directions emotionally, that doesn’t mean you’re scattered. It means you're human.

It means you're aware, and that awareness is powerful.

When you pause long enough to listen between the lines, between gratitude and stress, joy and heaviness, you often discover something more honest than either feeling alone could reveal.

Maybe the stress is a signal that your rhythm needs adjusting.

Maybe the gratitude is proof that something still resonates, even as you evolve.

Maybe together, they’re showing you what’s almost aligned and what needs a little shift to fully click.

You don’t need a bold conclusion.

Sometimes discovery is quiet.

Sometimes it sounds like, “This still matters to me, but I need to approach it differently.”

This is how alignment unfolds, not through constant clarity, but through attention.

You may begin to notice:

• You’re grateful for the life you’ve built, and still ready to explore what else is possible.

• You’re honoring your responsibilities, but no longer willing to ignore what’s draining you.

• You’re successful by outside standards, but craving something that feels more like you.

There’s wisdom in the tension.

Your emotions aren’t fighting each other, they’re reflecting the complexity of your growth.

In Human Design, we sometimes call this your “Signature” and “Not-Self” states. But here, I prefer to see it as the natural duality of being someone who is paying attention to what matters and evolving in real time.

So ask yourself:

• What do I want to carry forward with intention?

• What am I ready to release or rework?

• What small adjustment could help me feel more grounded, even in the middle of complexity?

Fulfillment isn’t a finish line.

It’s something you redefine as you grow.

And emotional tension?

It’s not an obstacle, it’s a sign that you’re listening.