Member-only story
Your mom was wrong, you should talk to strangers
First of all, the ex-corporate servant in me wants to position a disclaimer:
Please only approach strangers based on social distancing rules and if only so as permitted by restrictions in your own country.
When I started reading self-help books a decade ago, an exercise that was common to many of them was connecting with strangers.
For example, striking a conversation with someone in the lift. Or having a chat with someone random in the queue.
I tried it and it changed my life. It changed how I view people in general. And the fact that I started this in my twenties meant that I was fairly comfortable approaching people in my thirities.
While it is true that it is harder making friends in your thirties, it is not too late to talk to strangers. They do not all bite, in fact you will realise most of them are fairly nice. I repeat, most of them.
Why is it so hard talking to someone new?
Fear of rejection to start with. The lack of familiarity of the outcome makes us distrust the process. Wow that sounded very scientific. Let me try again:
