Are you a crunchy edge or gooey middle person when it comes to brownies? Most of us have a preference. My family is pretty much gooey middle people. That means, we might cut the middle pieces before the outside pieces. In fact, I’ve been known to start the outside cut just inside the crunchy zone instead of along the pan. That way, everyone gets an inside piece while maximizing the middle. But I recently found out someone in the family prefers the outside edges.

The preferences of brownies reminds me that different kinds of people complement one another and work toward the same goal with different preferences. We need more than one kind of person to eat an entire pan of brownies. We need more than one kind of person to get most everything in life done. Sometimes we appreciate the differences, but other times, we try to avoid them. We like our comfort and preferences—so much so that we will build a system to get what we want and avoid what we don’t. For example, I ordered an edges only pan for my family member who prefers edge-piece brownies.

What are the areas of your life in which you find the differences among people frustrating? What work-arounds have you created? What if you used that same creativity, time, and energy to resolve how to complement one another well?

It’s possible to be different yet walk alongside one another. Sometimes the edges fit together better than we think.