My Goal this week: Look people in the eye as I walk by them, smile and say hello. We get in such a hurry that its easy to ignore those around us. We are all connected and you never know if your smile will make all the difference in their day…so this week I will connect with everyone I pass 🙂

My Experience this week: This goal was actually harder that I thought it would be. What is it inside us that encourages us to be loners? Maybe it’s just me? But I found myself just wanting to grab a quick burrito during my busy day and get back to work…as if saying hello would take too much time. But I did it!! I really tried to at least make eye contact and smile to everyone I passed. And I said “Good Morning” to almost everyone that made eye contact with me. But not everyone did. I really noticed how many people were busy on their phones or were staring at the ground as I would pass…almost afraid to be noticed. But I was determined. The response was amazing. People would smile back and say hi. Sometimes in total shock that a “stranger” just said hello. And I even challenged myself…I work in a downtown area and there were mornings that I would see someone digging in the trash bins for cans or bottles. I would normally just walk by…but not this week. I smiled and said “Good Morning”. Amazing!!! I felt uplifted immediately when I saw the look on his face. As if someone was acknowledging him as a person. He smiled back and said “Hi, cold morning” and I said “It sure is”. Words can not describe the look on this mans face. And there are no words to describe how I felt in sharing that moment with him. As I walked into my office building I found myself wanting to talk to him more. What was his story? Where was he from? By Wednesday I started feeling so good that I decided to extend this goal and really make an effort to CONNECT with people who help me in line at the grocery store, the restaurant, the bank and the gas station. I didn’t bombard people with endless chatter while they were working. But I made an effort to say hello and maybe say how busy they were or that I liked their hair style or that it was cold outside. Some people had negative responses but I just kept “connecting”. I was spreading smiles all over my little town and I was in a better mood too!! It seems being “nice” is infectious. That’s what this all boiled down to…just being “nice”. What if everyone started just being nice to each other?

~ Be connected ~