“I always say that I’ll go first. That means if I’m checking out at the store, I’ll say hello first. If I’m coming across somebody and make eye contact, I’ll smile first. [I wish] people would experiment with that in their life a little bit. Be first, because – not all times, but most times – it comes in your favor.” — Olympic champion Gabby Reece
“People are friendly, but you have to go first.” — Ali Abdaal
Overcome the First Word Barrier.
Meet other people more than halfway.
- When you aim to meet people more than halfway, you’re much more likely to connect in the middle.
If you want to talk to your friend, just call them. You don’t have to play chicken about who’s going to take the first step by thinking like “They haven’t called me, so I’m not going to call them.”
Loneliness is a silent pandemic; assume people want to meet you.
Be the lead organizer of social events for your friends. They all want to hang out, they just suck at organizing things.
- Set up a standing social event with an open-ish invite policy or organize regular activities like Sunday dinners or Saturday brunch clubs to bring friends together consistently.