Same and Different

Did you ever consider that one of our major tasks in life is to realize our sameness and our distinctness?

All too often, we set up our sameness and our distinctness as dualism. We trick ourselves into believing that if we are similar to others, sharing values and visions, that all distinctness will disappear. Or, we focus on our singularity and slowly slide into the abyss of “terminal uniqueness.” Terminal sameness and terminal uniqueness are equally deadly, especially when we flop back and forth between the two of them.

There are other options!

When we, in the depth of our being, know and experience the beautiful oneness of all creation, we feel the peace and security of an interconnectedness that goes completely beyond our understanding.  There is a belongingness that informs all our being and doing and brings balance into our lives.

Yet, within this oneness, this connectedness, is a distinctness, a uniqueness that gives us our definition. And, with this definition, we know that we must make our contribution to the world;  no one else can make it for us. We each have a unique responsibility to the world.

We are all brothers and sisters; we are all one.

We are all different. Every person is unique, and each of us has his or her own preferences, thoughts, desires, needs, abilities, and goals.

Today, I realize that my connection to sameness and distinctness gives me balance of living.


Lolly Daskal is one of the most sought-after executive leadership coaches in the world. Her extensive cross-cultural expertise spans 14 countries, six languages and hundreds of companies. As founder and CEO of Lead From Within, her proprietary leadership program is engineered to be a catalyst for leaders who want to enhance performance and make a meaningful difference in their companies, their lives, and the world.

Of Lolly’s many awards and accolades, Lolly was designated a Top-50 Leadership and Management Expert by Inc. magazine. Huffington Post honored Lolly with the title of The Most Inspiring Woman in the World. Her writing has appeared in HBR, Inc.com, Fast Company (Ask The Expert), Huffington Post, and Psychology Today, and others. Her newest book, The Leadership Gap: What Gets Between You and Your Greatness has become a national bestseller.

  1. Monica Diaz

    10. Oct, 2009

    We seem to spend our lives working on ourselves and then have a hard time realizing we are one. Or basking in the oneness and not realizing our full potential. I describe in my book a story I heard from the Yoruba tradition. The gods have set out the truth of existence and broken it into millions of pieces. Each one of us has a piece, so we must understand it and fulfill our mission for the piece to be made sense of and put to work. To understand the truth, however we must find the rest of the truth in others, piece it together, be open to learning more.

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  2. Trax

    14. Sep, 2020

    Thanks so much for the post.Really thank you! Great.

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