I recently attended a class at work based on the book Crucial Conversations (Kerry Patterson, et al). It seems like we always have some sort of education or training seminar to go to. Usually it’s annoying and there are never any snacks. My employer really does make a good effort, though, to make sure that the company’s standards of excellence for patient care are never compromised. This particular class was actually interesting.
It was taught by one of our staff psychologists and she was a ball of hilarity and entertainment while also informative. At one point in her presentation she drew a line on the white board with three ‘Xs’ on it. She wrote her birth day on the first one, the current date on the middle one, and a question mark on the third one. You see where I’m going with this.
Her whole point was that you have no idea what to write on that third X. It could be fifty years from now. You might have to slide it a little closer to that middle X and put tomorrow’s date on it. You just don’t know. Here’s where the profound part comes in.
One day she saw her 10 year old daughter standing in front of the fridge just staring. (The Captain does this, drives me nuts). She, like me and every other mom, griped at her “get what you want and close the door!” Her daughter replied, “I’m thinking.” Ok. Think with the door closed.
She went on to say she was thinking about the expiration date on the milk. Mom was confused because she knew that milk was still good, she just bought it. What was there to think about? But then she, at ten years old, looked at her mom and said that people should have expiration dates on their foreheads. At first this seems really morbid. Do you really want to know exactly when you’re going to die? Or when your loved ones will? “Why?” she asked her daughter. “So people can enjoy their milk.”
What would you do differently if you knew your “expiration date?” How would you treat people differently if you knew theirs? And is it a sell by date or a use by date? Does the smell test still work?
No comments:
Post a Comment