Mimi Donaldson, a fellow member of the National Speakers Association, recently gave me a copy of her newest book,”NECESSARY ROUGHNESS: New Rules for the Contact Sport of Life.” The book uses football as a metaphor for the challenges of life.
Mimi is a best-selling author and international speaker who explains genetic differences between males and females. Here are some of my favorites from Mimi’s book:
–While watching a football game on a Sunday afternoon after the whistle blew, Mimi’s friend saw her wiping a tear from her eyes and inquired, “Why?” Mimi responded, “Oh, Joe, “That’s my favorite part of the game. The guy from one team knocked down a guy from the other team. Then he reached his hand out to help him up.” Joe responded that when the whistle blew the play was over. The guy was helping the other guy up so they could start knocking each other down again. He explained that it’s about efficiency, not compassion.
–Men bond through competition and mind games. Women don’t bond through competition. Women bond through stories.
–Men seem to be more about the destination than the journey. Women are all about the journey.
–Men talk to exchange facts, ideas, and information. Women talk to process their thoughts and feelings.
–Women tend to take in a number of impressions simultaneously and later focus on specifics. Men, on the other hand, start by focusing on specifics and then move to encompass the big picture.
As a society, we have learned that we grow and are better for understanding and accepting others. We refer to this as diversity. And it applies to gender.
