Run into people

Create occasions for saying hello

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:03):
Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of iHeartRadio. Good Morning,
This is Laura. Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast. Today's
tip is to create occasions to run into people. Nobody
wants to live an isolated life, and while you can

(00:25):
and should make plans with the people you are close to,
there is much to be said for allowing some serendipitous
connection as well. So if you work in an office
miss days, spend lots of time on the sidelines of
soccer games, show up at worship services each weekend, and
regularly groom the local trails as a volunteer. You probably

(00:47):
cross paths with lots of people that you sort of
know every day, but many people don't have as many
occasions for socializing with people who we might call week ties.
That means you're friendly but not best friends. You're not
going to call these people frequently, but you like to

(01:08):
see them when you do. Sometimes, over time, relationships can
become closer or weak. Ties can introduce you to other
people or share information like a great camp for your
kids that's not sold out by October, or who to
talk to if you have a problem with your trash
collection service. Your best friends already know a lot of

(01:30):
the same stuff you do. The people you run into
occasionally move in different circles, so they have more new
stuff to offer. So how can you run into more people?
One option is to be a little less efficient with
the things you have to do. Yes, grocery delivery is

(01:51):
great if you are on a tight schedule, but are
you always Maybe some days you could go to the
grocery store at five fifteen pm, when absolutely everyone else
is there, or on Saturday afternoons. If you have lived
in your town for a while, the odds that you
bump into someone you know are large. Same for shopping

(02:13):
for gifts. Stop by the bookstore and see what's there
and just as importantly, who is there. Another great way
to cross paths with people is to exercise out in
the world instead of just at home. Run outside, or
go to the gym instead of running on the treadmill
in your basement. If you start going to the gym

(02:34):
at around the same time most days, not only will
you bump into people you know from elsewhere, you might
start getting to know the other regulars. That is a
win all around. If you are a remote worker, consider
working away from home one to two days a week.
There's no need to add on a long commute. But

(02:56):
if you've got a bustling coffee shop nearby, you could
go work there for two hours two afternoons a week
and feel a lot less isolated. Of course, if you
are arranging your life to run into people, you should
be prepared to spend a little time with the people
you run into. While you are doing this, build in

(03:17):
a little extra time for things if you don't need
to be somewhere immediately afterwards, you can have a conversation
with people rather than racing off, and consider joining groups
or organizations where you're likely to see a lot of folks.
There are a great many reasons to volunteer, but feeling
like you are part of a community is a big one.

(03:40):
Professional groups can also be great. You don't have to
go to everything, but going to some things allows you
to run into people. It's interesting in our digital age,
how removed from everyone else we can be. I remember
when services like grubhub or uber eats first became a thing.
How odd it was to order food and not deal

(04:02):
with a single other human being. The food just appeared
on the doorstep. I didn't even have to call the restaurant.
And talk to the person at the counter. And in
many ways this is amazing. My order is less likely
to get garbled in the process. But sometimes we can
go a little too far and walling ourselves off. The

(04:25):
world is full of wonderful people. It's nice to say
hello on occasion. In the meantime, this is Laura. Thanks
for listening, and here's to making the most of our times.

(04:47):
Thanks for listening to Before Breakfast. If you've got questions, ideas,
or feedback, you can reach me at Laura at Laura
vandercam dot com. Before Breakfast is a production of iHeartMedia.
For more podcasts from iHeartMedia, please visit the iHeartRadio app,

(05:09):
Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.