One of the Art of Loving Life is the ability to socialize. Socialization is probably one of the best ways to have a great time. Try to enjoy all that this moment in time has to offer. There is an art of loving life that I believe some people need help with. Life is more fulfilling when you are with others of your own kind. It is more interesting when you share with people that haven’t heard the same story that you tell over and over again but instead are enthralled and hang on to your every word. Some people would also call this networking. Increasing the size of your network helps you both socially and emotionally.
You don’t need to live with the person or couple that you are having lunch / dinner/ drinks with. You just need to have an interesting conversation for a few hours. Thats it! If you find that you don’t share any common interest than move along to other people. No harm, no fowl. (peacock, peafowl, get it?..ehem, moving on…) The more that you do this, the more that you will find people to be more interesting and for you to have a more fulfilling life. The best reason that you can go out socially is when you say in your mind “but I don’t know these people”. This is when you will have the most fascinating conversations.
I personally know people that rarely or never go to their friends houses. They mention that they are just not social people. To this I have to say that they are selling themselves short. I think that the matter at hand is they are afraid to take that first step. It could be because they don’t know how. Socialization can take many forms. Playing cards for the evening or eating is always popular in my book. Going to a bar or dance club is another option. The important thing is to talk, this seems to be a dying art now. There are so many different forms of communication that doesn’t require direct interaction.
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If you do feel butterflies in your stomach when thinking of talking to others, try these tips:
Use Social Media Products
I am not saying that you need to be on Facebook 24/7 but it is a great place to find friends from your previous lives. I know that you might not want to reach out to some of those old friends because there is a reason they are not existing friends. There are many others that you can talk to casually from previous schools, work or casual acquaintances that you have made through the years. I would recommend LinkedIn if you are looking to form a more professional relationship with the other people. Just make sure that it is understood that this is the case. You don’t want to blindside someone with trying to sell them something when they thought it was an innocent dinner. That is just bad form.
People that you haven’t seen since high school or college
This will be a good ice breaker for becoming the social butterfly. You knew this person in high school and/or college so you have a little bit of background and knowledge of each other. Within the course of 2 hours you should be able to fill the conversation void and probably have a good time catching up on life since school. Since the advent of Facebook this should be pretty easy to find. This also makes it thoroughly entertaining for your significant other to hear stories of your youth that they might not have heard.
Most people have a fear of reaching out, so be the first
Odds are you will get a positive reaction since most people have a fear of being the first to reach out and the thought of being rejected is too overwhelming to them. Most people want to be liked by others and although it is hard to understand most people believe that they are very important so go ahead and run with that.
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Do it Now!
What the heck are you waiting for? Pick up the phone, open up the Facebook chat window and create a gathering. If you are reading this post in the middle of the night, wait until the morning to do this so you don’t start off on the wrong foot. If you don’t do it now you will forget and move on to something else that you believe is important. Procrastination is becoming an art form in the US so just nip that in the rear. Get it done so you can start on the path to a happier life. Look to one of my earlier articles on how to “GO”!
Using these tips will help you start to be more social and will bring more happiness into your life. Remember that you need to get out and enjoy life. Enjoy all that it has to offer. Don’t sit at home every evening watching TV. Lying by telling your spouse that when you retire at 67 you will be able to do all the stuff that you didn’t do in your youth. Don’t wait until the end of your life to start having a good time. Make a point to start enjoying life today! Right this moment because this moment will be gone soon and will never come back again.
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A positive post! It is good to connect.
I like when you pointed out this:
“It is more interesting when you share this with people that haven’t heard the same story that you tell over and over again but instead are enthralled and hang on to your every word.”
Socialization is definitely underrated in terms of happiness. That is one of the reasons I joined the traditional workforce again. I was missing out on traditional socializing and people watching. I felt my people skills were deteriorating
Thanks for your comments! Yes, we honestly need human interaction to be happy. When folks stayed home during the pandemic, this created a chasm for people to physically be with other people. Video conferencing helped some but this also “forced” us to find alternative outlets instead of the office. Now hopefully people will maintain these alternative communication methods in addition to returning to their office coworkers.