Carrie's "Nudge" Challenge Week 6 = Reconnecting and Thankfulness
NUDGED: "Connect with someone I haven't talked to in over 6 months"
BACKSTORY: Last year, I reached out to a childhood friend that I hadn't seen in over a decade, and we went out for breakfast and caught up. It was a little uncomfortable at first going through the "what happened to you after high school?" questions but the more we talked, the more we found familiar ground. We reminisced on the "good old days" (ha!) and how life was turning out, and encouraged each other on our journeys. It was so awesome to see the girl I played dolls with as a child turned out to be an incredible, confident woman who is changing the world. I am so proud of her!
I added this nudge to my list as a way to connect to other people who have impacted my life, who I lost touch with for whatever reason. Throughout my life, my path has been crossed with special people and they have shaped who I am today, although some people were in my life for just a short time. I am thankful for friendships and lessons, and this week was the perfect week to reach out and let them know!
Full disclosure: I had lots of worries going into this nudge. What if they don't respond? What if they don't remember me? What if we have nothing to talk about?
QUOTE: "Make new friends, but keep the old. One is silver and the other's gold. A circle is round, it has no end. That's how long I want to be your friend." - well-known Girl Scout song, from 1925 Girl Scout Song Book
HIGHLIGHTS OF THE WEEK:
"Reconnect" was my key word for this week. "Thankful" was a close second.
Once again, this nudge was perfectly timed as it was Thanksgiving week. It was a week of reconnecting with friends and being with family I haven't seen for awhile. I was open this week to chance encounters to reconnect. You never know who you will run into randomly at a store or hear from out of the blue. I was much more aware of the possibility this week and stayed open to all conversations
I am thankful that I posted my nudges challenge and blog information on social media last week. It provided a great conversation starter with people I haven't talked to in awhile, which ironically helped with my nudge for this week.
The result? With the help of email, Messenger and family gatherings, I managed to reconnect with five people this week that I haven't talked to in awhile (over 6 months for sure!). Unfortunately, there were two people that I was not successful in connecting with this week.
I reconnected with a high school friend (17 years since we've talked!), a college friend (after many years), a Bible Study friend who moved away a few years ago (with almost a year since our last communication), and extended family members we haven't seen since last Thanksgiving as they live far away. I was surprised at how easy all the conversations were, just like no time had passed. It was so nice to get updates and see where life had taken each of them.
These conversations were the highlights of my week and the interactions will be remembered. Every night for the past five years, I write down the highlight or the happiest moment of my day before I go to bed. I noticed this week that the highlights of many days this week were the conversations I had for this nudge. Looking back on previous days over the years in my book, positive interactions with people are usually the highlights of my day.
LESSONS LEARNED:
1) It is easy to connect with some people from your past, but other connections will not work out. Some people may not respond or can't be found. It's okay. Don't over think it. It's still worth the risk in reaching out.
2) I was surprised how simple it is to get in contact with people again: send an email or message, then wait. Done! It seemed much harder to do when thinking about it ahead of time. And, I was surprised by how excited I was to receive responses too.
3) Seemingly randomly, something comes up that will remind me of someone (a memory, visual clue, smell, place, etc.). Instead of just thinking of that person and forgetting it soon after, I learned to reach out to those people and use my random memory as an easy conversation starter. For example, this week I saw a woman at church that looked just like my friend that moved away, and it made me think of her (and miss her!). I sent the friend a message stating that I saw her twin and thought of her, and a good conversation started.
4) Friendships (old and new) are important, so make time for them!
NEXT UP: I just picked the new nudge to challenge me this week: "forgive 5 people". The first word out of my mouth was "no". I think I have some work to do. Forgiveness is VERY HARD for me!!! Prayers requested and appreciated. :)
BACKSTORY: Last year, I reached out to a childhood friend that I hadn't seen in over a decade, and we went out for breakfast and caught up. It was a little uncomfortable at first going through the "what happened to you after high school?" questions but the more we talked, the more we found familiar ground. We reminisced on the "good old days" (ha!) and how life was turning out, and encouraged each other on our journeys. It was so awesome to see the girl I played dolls with as a child turned out to be an incredible, confident woman who is changing the world. I am so proud of her!
I added this nudge to my list as a way to connect to other people who have impacted my life, who I lost touch with for whatever reason. Throughout my life, my path has been crossed with special people and they have shaped who I am today, although some people were in my life for just a short time. I am thankful for friendships and lessons, and this week was the perfect week to reach out and let them know!
Full disclosure: I had lots of worries going into this nudge. What if they don't respond? What if they don't remember me? What if we have nothing to talk about?
QUOTE: "Make new friends, but keep the old. One is silver and the other's gold. A circle is round, it has no end. That's how long I want to be your friend." - well-known Girl Scout song, from 1925 Girl Scout Song Book
HIGHLIGHTS OF THE WEEK:
"Reconnect" was my key word for this week. "Thankful" was a close second.
Once again, this nudge was perfectly timed as it was Thanksgiving week. It was a week of reconnecting with friends and being with family I haven't seen for awhile. I was open this week to chance encounters to reconnect. You never know who you will run into randomly at a store or hear from out of the blue. I was much more aware of the possibility this week and stayed open to all conversations
I am thankful that I posted my nudges challenge and blog information on social media last week. It provided a great conversation starter with people I haven't talked to in awhile, which ironically helped with my nudge for this week.
The result? With the help of email, Messenger and family gatherings, I managed to reconnect with five people this week that I haven't talked to in awhile (over 6 months for sure!). Unfortunately, there were two people that I was not successful in connecting with this week.
I reconnected with a high school friend (17 years since we've talked!), a college friend (after many years), a Bible Study friend who moved away a few years ago (with almost a year since our last communication), and extended family members we haven't seen since last Thanksgiving as they live far away. I was surprised at how easy all the conversations were, just like no time had passed. It was so nice to get updates and see where life had taken each of them.
These conversations were the highlights of my week and the interactions will be remembered. Every night for the past five years, I write down the highlight or the happiest moment of my day before I go to bed. I noticed this week that the highlights of many days this week were the conversations I had for this nudge. Looking back on previous days over the years in my book, positive interactions with people are usually the highlights of my day.
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| Tesla Coil shows the power of connection! Picture taken this summer at the Museum of Science & Industry in Chicago. |
LESSONS LEARNED:
1) It is easy to connect with some people from your past, but other connections will not work out. Some people may not respond or can't be found. It's okay. Don't over think it. It's still worth the risk in reaching out.
2) I was surprised how simple it is to get in contact with people again: send an email or message, then wait. Done! It seemed much harder to do when thinking about it ahead of time. And, I was surprised by how excited I was to receive responses too.
3) Seemingly randomly, something comes up that will remind me of someone (a memory, visual clue, smell, place, etc.). Instead of just thinking of that person and forgetting it soon after, I learned to reach out to those people and use my random memory as an easy conversation starter. For example, this week I saw a woman at church that looked just like my friend that moved away, and it made me think of her (and miss her!). I sent the friend a message stating that I saw her twin and thought of her, and a good conversation started.
4) Friendships (old and new) are important, so make time for them!
NEXT UP: I just picked the new nudge to challenge me this week: "forgive 5 people". The first word out of my mouth was "no". I think I have some work to do. Forgiveness is VERY HARD for me!!! Prayers requested and appreciated. :)
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