I think it’s tough to appreciate how much relationships determine the course of our lives — and how randomly many of them come to be. A chance con

Making “Social” Social Again

submited by
Style Pass
2024-12-12 19:00:06

I think it’s tough to appreciate how much relationships determine the course of our lives — and how randomly many of them come to be. A chance conversation turns into an introduction, turns into a job, turns into a life partner, turns into moving across the country.

I am sure that most of the good things in my life — whether I appreciated it at the time or not — would not have come to be had I not happened to meet certain people and develop chance connections into relationships. Friends, collaborators, connectors.

(I also know that most of the stress and anxiety I’ve experienced has come from poorly managing relationships or associating with people I shouldn’t have.)

While I treasure and nurture my friendships today, I was not always so mindful about them. In fact, just a couple of years ago, I was trying to make a list of people to invite to my 50th birthday, and I had a sad realization: I didn’t have a robust set of friendships I felt great about given my stage in life.

I could point to many reasons for this: Covid, startups, introversion. Of course, everything goes back to childhood. I grew up in a very small town where I didn’t find a lot of people on my wavelength. While I desperately wanted to connect with people, I also cut myself off and developed a fiercely independent mindset. My strategy, at a subconscious level, was to succeed. If I could prove I mattered, by doing something impressive, people would come to me.

Leave a Comment