It’s not often that we choose to approach strangers in public. I mean, fair enough, because it’s a little scary and you never know what may happen. There’s always the possibility of rejection which can be difficult to deal with. However, there’s also the possibility that you could meet someone who can change your life. Let’s face it; if approaching people you didn’t know was a societal norm, we would have the opportunity to connect with many more wonderful people.
Think of all the places where you encounter people in public: gas stations, grocery stores, coffee shops, gyms, libraries, church, the list could go on forever. Long story short, our paths cross with so many other individuals on a daily basis. To think that approaching just one of them could change our lives completely is crazy to think about it, but it’s true! If we were open to approaching others or letting others approach us, our lives could easily be enriched by many phenomenal people.
Going out on a limb is never easy. As I mentioned earlier, rejection is always a possibility and it is never easy to deal with. But there’s also acceptance and friendliness that could be a possible outcome, and those should not be overshadowed by the fear of being turned down. In fact, who says that approaching people has to be due to a romantic interest? Maybe it could be approaching a stranger because you want to give them a compliment on something they are wearing. Or maybe you want to ask them a question about something you see on them, whether it be a t-shirt or a tattoo. There are many reasons that may cause someone to want to approach a stranger in public, and being more open to the idea of that happening would result in much more happiness and common ground shared by humans across the board.
Too often people will say things like, “I should have talked to that cute guy at the gym,” or “I wish I would have left my number for that waitress.” Why don’t we? What are we losing by putting ourselves out there? I would much rather say ‘oh well’ to something than say ‘what if’, because not knowing what could have happened is something that eats people alive. We shouldn’t have to rely on websites such as Missed Connections, because face-to-face connections are what we need to focus on. We as humans need to learn how to put our pride aside and go out on a limb for people that are intriguing to us. There are so many amazing things that could happen if we would just take a risk.
Approaching people in public should be a societal norm because so many more connections could be made and humans would ultimately get along better with each other. Going out on a limb would help to boost our personal confidence and would also open the doors for so many new connections. It would promote kindness and curiosity, and leave us with many friendships and relationships we may have never had otherwise.
