How Can Our Differences Make Us Stronger?

Rahel and I met for the first time in January of 2016. As an older, white, and bald man from Utah, I didn't know what to expect from our first date. I knew nothing about Rahel's culture and background being from Tanzania. We met at a local Ethiopian restaurant I never knew about before. Luckily, I am adventurous and love to try new foods. The food was great!

Curious, I asked Rahel some questions I found online that you should ask in order to fall in love. That wasn't my original plan though. I just thought that the questions were interesting and wanted to be sure I didn't run out of things to talk about. I guess it worked since we did quickly fall in love.

Curiosity

At first, we were very curious about each other. We poked, pinched, and inspected each other in detail. We quickly realized that we were very compatible. Interestingly enough, we did not realize how different we really were. Maybe that is why we hit it off so quickly. We looked past our differences and focused on what we had in common and learning more about each other. I think being curious about others is how you learn more new things and become much more knowledgeable. This also helps with creativity by giving you more ideas to combine and connect.

There is an incredible story about a man named Daryl Davis who was able to convince several KKK members to give up their beliefs. He had the courage to confront his fears and used the curiosity we all have within us to dispel the unfounded fears in others. Curiosity is a powerful tool with many uses.

Differences

Rahel and I now fully realize most all of our differences. Here is a list of all that I can think of: Race, Color, Religion, Sex, Age, Nationality, Culture, Education, Experiences, Personality, Likes, Dislikes, Books, Movies, Food, Music, Hobbies, Strengths, Weaknesses, Parenting Styles, and Activities. I am sure there are many more but you can see that there are quite a few of them. I never looked at those differences as a problem though. I always saw them as being interesting, unique, and helpful. Having all those different viewpoints helps me to understand things in a way that I never would have. It also makes life much more interesting and exciting.

In fact, there is an interesting study from the Harvard Business Review about how diversity drives innovation.

Benefits

By being so different, we are many times stronger. There are many things that I am weak in where Rahel is strong and vice versa. For example, I tend to focus on the small details and may not always see the big picture. Rahel is very good at seeing things from a high level. It works out great! She works on the overall strategy for our business and I focus on the details. Complimenting each other in this way makes us much more effective than if either of us were alone. I truly feel that we can achieve anything we put out minds to!

Change the World!

We hope you will be a part of our mission to make the world a better place for ourselves and our children by embracing our differences and seeing them as a way to be better, stronger, smarter, and happier. It all starts with curiosity and courage.