Anyone who is shy knows how difficult it can be to enter a room, a cocktail party, a classroom, or any other new situation and come face-to-face with a room full of strangers.
I recently experienced this discomfort when I signed up for a Scrabble course at my local library. I immensely enjoy playing the game whenever I can muster up a partner. Although I am nowhere near the level of a tournament Scrabble player, I play well enough that no one I know likes to play with me... I was hoping I could find a compatible player at the library on that Thursday afternoon.
But when I entered the meeting room off the main section of the library, I momentarily worried that I would wind up being the only person in the room sitting at a table by myself. Intellectually, I knew I would probably connect with someone but viscerally, for those few seconds, it was chilling to think about when and how that would transpire.
I took a seat across from an attractive woman who smiled at me and after that, the rest of the interaction flowed. I realized that she had taken that proverbial “first step.” A simple smile, a warm welcome, or a sincerely expressed interest in another person--are all little steps that lay the foundation for friendships.
This month, Step-tember (SIC), is America on the Move Month which also encourages us to take small steps, like walking more and eating less, to achieve long-term wellness goals. When we break bigger things into incremental steps, they’re not as difficult as we anticipate. American on the Move suggests adding 2,000 extra steps each day to your daily routine and finding ways to eat 100 fewer calories each day---both achievable goals.
I read an article today in the Longmont, Colorado Daily Times-Call about two women who met while passing each other on their morning walks about four years ago. Since that time, they’ve walked about 4 miles together---almost every day regardless of the season---sharing intimacies about their lives and forging a wonderful friendship a step at a time.
Martin Luther King, Jr. said, “You don’t have to climb the whole staircase, just take the first step.” The adage applies to so many things in life, including making new friends.
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