6 Things That Should Never Go Together and 2 Surprising Things That Should
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Hi, I’m Dr. Chris White, best-selling co-author of The Flip Side and a Ph.D. statistician. Here are 6 Things That Should Never Go Together and 2 Surprising Things That Should.
Well, the first two things that should NEVER go together are definitely…donuts and seafood. This is not Photoshop – I took this picture myself in a small town in Texas. I didn’t go in, but I can totally picture them asking me, “Sir, would you like to try the salmon-glazed chocolate donut?” Uggghh. I at least hope they switch out the cooking oil between breakfast and lunch!
What about another one…celery & Jell-O?! That is just nasty. My grandmother loved me so much, but it apparently did not show up in her Jell-O making, because she put celery in her fruit Jell-O. I can still taste the crunch of that celery today!
Well, the third duo of things that shouldn’t go together are bacon and ___________. What do you think fills in the blank there? What should bacon never go with? Trick question – bacon goes with everything. You should know this!
But our main topic for today is actually 2 Things That DO Go Together that a lot of people don’t think about. And I’m referring to behaviors here.
So, our two things that do go together are…drumroll please…nurturing & criticality!
Let’s talk about criticality – what am I referring to there? Well, it’s basically the reflex to critique. Some people have a very strong reflex; it’s almost uncontrollable. You see it in their body language. You see it in their expectations of others. You see it in their tendencies to point out concerns and even in their candor.
Our second behavior in our combo is nurturing. It’s basically the reflex to nurture, which would include giving compliments, expressing appreciation, taking conversations deeper, keeping in touch with people, being empathetic, and even being a great listener. Gulp.
I’m good at a couple of those, but I’m not great at some others – and that’s actually fairly common because nurturing is a very multidimensional trait.
Well, people often ask me, “Is it better to be high on nurturing or high on criticality?” And you know what I tell them? Yes! Yes, ideally a leader is high on both. They earn the right, they deepen the connection, they communicate with genuine concern, but they also say what needs to be said and they challenge people to be better. But most people lean one way or the other.
So think about yourself – which of the two could you improve on the most? Or maybe, which situation within one of them could you improve on the most – because they can be situational! Most people just go through life and don’t think about these intricacies. But they really should, because these two behaviors, in particular, play a huge role, if not the primary role, in determining something that I suspect is fairly important to you…your legacy. Your legacy!
Listen, I don’t need you to reinvent yourself or change your stripes. But I just want you – and me – to stretch ourselves and be able to be high on both nurturing and criticality.
