#1732 "Natto Day" [Friday, July 10th]

Good morning! This is Macchan!

Today, July 10th, is apparently "Natto Day."
It's a play on words for 7 (na) and 10 (tto).

I often eat natto for breakfast, but it suddenly occurred to me.

Natto is a lot like human relationships.

The more you mix it, the better it tastes

It is said that the more you mix natto, the better it tastes.

The famous gourmet Rosanjin Kitaoji reportedly said, "Mix natto at least 400 times." Mixing it increases the stickiness and makes the umami easier to taste.

Natto is still natto even if you eat it as is.
But by taking the time to mix it, the same natto becomes even more delicious.

I think this is exactly the same for relationships between people.

Human relationships are the same

Someone you've only exchanged business cards with once, versus someone you've met many times, chatted with, and sometimes struggled alongside.

If you had to ask who you'd want to entrust with work or who you'd want to consult with, it would definitely be the latter, right?

In human relationships, too, trust deepens the more you interact and connect with each other.

Deep trust is rarely born from meeting just once. You have to mix it many times. In other words, you have to interact many times. That accumulation is what gradually brings out the flavor.

Frequency of meetings creates trust

Actually, this is supported by psychology as well.

It is a study called the "mere-exposure effect" published by social psychologist Robert Zajonc in 1968. Experiments have shown that people tend to develop a liking for something the more they are exposed to it.

The important thing is that "frequency" comes before the "quality" of the contact.

You don't have to have amazing conversations. A short greeting or a quick exchange of comments is fine. The number of times you see each other and the number of times you exchange words form the foundation of trust.

I myself have realized this many times over the six years since I quit my company and became independent. Most of the connections that led to work were born not from a "single sales pitch," but from "relationships where we met many times."

Don't forget to be grateful

And there is one more thing we can learn from natto.

Natto only reaches our dining table thanks to soybeans, natto bacteria, and the people who make it. Even a single bean that we eat as if it were a matter of course is packed with many connections.

Human relationships are the same; the bonds we have with the people we are connected to now are by no means a matter of course.

That is why we should never forget to be grateful. If you have a chance to interact with someone today, try to mix things up just a little more carefully. I believe that alone will definitely change the flavor of the relationship.

Let's make today a fruitful day as well.

By the way, regarding the size of natto beans: large, regular, or minced?
Which do you prefer?

I prefer regular. Haha

That is all for today's article.

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#NattoDay #HumanRelationships #Trust #MereExposureEffect #Freelance #Independence #Community #MorningActivity #DailyNote #Essay

[Recommended Books for You]

"Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion" by Robert Cialdini

A classic book where you can systematically learn how liking and trust are born. It goes perfectly with the context of the mere exposure effect.

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