We have an enormous loneliness problem in modern life. For me personally, I was lonely until about age 26. Now I have abundant community and a strong sense of connection in my daily life.
Here are some keys to moving from loneliness to connection:
* Move past the fear and get comfortable being vulnerable
* Chances are, the people around you are lonely too
* Ask questions: rather than talking about yourself, ask questions of others. Just let yourself be curious–what do you want to know about someone? What lights them up? What makes them unique?
* Let yourself be goofy — I’m convinced that stiff social etiquette stands in the way of connection
* Lower your standards for hosting — it’s wonderful if you can cook a homemade meal for someone or bust out the fine china. But if you can’t, then have people over and order takeout. It can mean the difference between social connection and netflix alone.
* Don’t let your insecurity drive you to obligate people to hang out with you. Give everyone their freedom. Just be generous, kind, thoughtful, and authentic, and you will be the kind of person that people will want to be around.
