#277 - Life is all about connecting with other people!

Time is precious and isn’t something that should be squandered. It’s the one thing that can never be replaced. How you use it can say a lot about your character.

Are you investing time in work, family, God, and friendships, or is your time all about you? Are you sharing your time with others? Let’s talk about connecting with others in a meaningful way.

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Life is all about connection.
Over the past couple of weeks I’ve been reminded about the power of connections. I’m talking about connections to other people.

I have a Facebook friend that connected me to her publicist, and he’s connected me to dozens of podcasters which has led to dozens of interviews.

I’ve also recognized that we have connections that are inconvenient at times. Here are a couple of examples of what I mean.

The other day I was working inside my boat and a friend knocked on the hull to say hi. We ended up having a 20- or 30-minute conversation.

It’s 20 minutes I can’t get back, but it deepened our connection to each other. It’s part of the boating life.

You cannot plan on being totally focused on what you’re doing because someone is bound to come along and start a conversation. This can happen several times during the day so I just have to plan on being far less productive than I would like.

Just this morning I was at the lumber yard to pick up a couple of fittings for a plumbing project I was working on. I was just about to walk out the door when the owner walked by and said hello.

I’ve known him and his family of at least 48 years and haven’t seen him in over 40 years. We ended up having a 30-minute conversation just getting caught up. It was a totally unexpected conversation and one that through off my morning schedule.

I’m not complaining. I’m just making observations. Sometimes we have to accept the inconveniences of these unexpected and sometimes unwanted interruptions. It’s part of life. It’s part of being connected to other people.

One of the most common questions I get is how to meet people.
I firmly believe it’s all about taking time to talk to people whether your really want to or not. It’s taking a little time out of your day to connect with someone.

It’s about giving something irreplaceable to others…your time. We’re all given just so much time in this life. How are you spending it?

Are you sharing it with others or are you hoarding it for yourself? The older I get them more I recognize that I want and need others in my life.

I can’t have others in my life if I’m not willing to share my time with them.

The greatest relationships will wither and die if you don’t devote time to them.
Have you ever been in a one-sided relationship? This is a relationship where you give and give and give yet the other person seems to not really care one way or another.

It doesn’t make any difference how much time and effort you invest in the relationship, it will never go anywhere. Then one day you wake up and say, “I’ve had enough!”

You finally recognize that you’re the only one working at it and there is no point in doing it anymore.

I see married couples invest so much time in raising their children and fail to invest time in each other. When the kids are finally raised and out of the house, they discover they’re living with a stranger.

The one thing they had holding them together has move out and moved on. It’s a stark reality to discover you’ve neglected each other.

Often times the end result is divorce mainly because you didn’t stay connected to each other. What a world of difference it would have made had you spent time talking with each other at least once a week without the kids.

In the beginning of a new relationship there needs to be a flurry of conversations.
It takes time to get to know someone new. You can’t do it with a text here or a phone call there.

It takes regular contact, in depth conversations, and time spend together sharing ideas and experiencing life together.

As your relationship grows, the pace of conversations can slow. But, you still need to be able to have good heart-to-heart talks now and then.

Not every conversation is going to be easy.
When you’re in a relationship with someone, even if it isn’t romantic in nature, there are going to be things you don’t agree on.

This is where emotional maturity and good communication skills are important. You’re going to have to be mature enough to admit you made a mistake and take responsibility for your actions.

You’re going to have to be mature enough to recognize when to agree to disagree.

We’re designed to be in connection with others.
That’s the way God created us. It’s important for our mental well-being…even for introverts.

As I get older, I recognize that I don’t need as many people around me, but I do need a few very special people to remain connected to.

Evaluate your connections to people. Eliminate the ones that bring you grief or stress most of the time. Cling to the ones that lift you up and enhance you.

I hope I’ve given you some food for thought to help you make healthy relationship decisions for yourself.

Please feel free share your thoughts, your successes, and your missteps to help others get better one step at a time. Leave a comment below or drop me an email at [email protected].