On Thanksgiving 2014, I posted the following message to my Facebook friends:
"In some way or another, you have touched my life during the journey. I am committed to soon reconnect with every single one of you. I know a couple of weeks ago people were touting an "unfriend" day in Social Media -- I think that's the wrong mindset to have. I reached out to some people in the past couple of months that I haven't talked to in awhile and it was a positive experience. Sometimes, people are just as afraid as you to reach out, so be the person that does. Also, you don't know how you've touched the lives of others, so if you "unfriend" them, it could be hurtful when you mean more to someone than you think, even if you are out of touch. I am thankful for my family. I am thankful for my friends. I am thankful for you. #projectrefriend"
Most of my life, I have had a problem reaching out to people that I haven't heard from in awhile. I have told myself things that are absolute creations of my own thinking:
"They're probably too busy."
"They probably don't remember me anyway."
And the worst one of all, which I have said to myself more than any other: "They probably don't care."
Why I thought this way, I could not tell you, but I realized it was a problem because there were many people that touched my life that have drifted away from me. I voiced this concern plenty, and I was always told that it was a natural way of life: "people just move on and do their own things. That's life. You can't stay friends with everyone forever."
I understand that people continue forward and live their own lives, but do they know their impact on others? Do they know their impact on me?
I have learned over the years that people are truly AFRAID to reach out to others just as much as I was afraid to reach out. People will go years missing someone without writing a letter or reaching for the phone because they fear that this person won't care.
It's amazing in this day and age where we are more connected than ever before that we are simultaneously just as disconnected. I have a firm belief that Social Media, as great as it is, has tricked us into thinking that everyone is closer to us when in fact they are just as distant as they were before Social Media. It's just this time, we only THINK we're connected because we see what they're doing. What they're having for lunch. Who they're marrying or breaking up with. What they received as gifts for the Holidays. We FEEL connected to these people because we see what they're doing through photos and video.
Ask yourself when the last time you actually connected with this person. The answer may surprise you.
November 17th, 2014, people talked about National Unfriend Day, a day to unfriend those who were "clogging their friends list" or "didn't matter" because they posted stuff that wasn't interesting or annoying to them. The idea came from a video on the Jimmy Kimmel Live YouTube Channel, where Mr. Kimmel's intention is for people to share the video on others Facebook walls as a warning that they will soon be unfriended for a list of annoying Social Media habits. The video is intended to be comical, but posting such a video on someone's wall is arguably hurtful, especially if this is your first contact with the person in awhile.
That's why I am launching my own personal project I like to call #projectrefriend. During this project, , I will be doing the following:
1.) Reaching out to every single person on my friend's list, no matter how long or not I've talked with them, and acknowledging their impact on my life, big or small.
2.) Encourage others on my Social Media pages to reach out to someone else; at the very least, one person that they truly miss and want to reconnect with, and acknowledge their impact.
Doing such a thing creates extreme vulnerability, but it is the only way that others know that you are sincere and genuine. I will do this for every friend on my friend's list until its completion. I do not expect others to reach out to everyone on their friend's list too, but if I influence you to reach out to at least one person that you miss and haven't talked to in years, even if they aren't on Facebook anymore, I think I will have made a difference. And please, hold yourself accountable and let me know when you do it and share your story with me. I'm happy to hear it.
What about the people that you barely know that are on your Facebook friends list? You know, the ones that you met at a party or other social function one time and added them the next day. Reach out and see what happens. Reconnect. Make a new friend that's already there. It could open doors, new opportunities, and most importantly, lasting friendships. You'll never know until you do it.
#projectrefriend
"In some way or another, you have touched my life during the journey. I am committed to soon reconnect with every single one of you. I know a couple of weeks ago people were touting an "unfriend" day in Social Media -- I think that's the wrong mindset to have. I reached out to some people in the past couple of months that I haven't talked to in awhile and it was a positive experience. Sometimes, people are just as afraid as you to reach out, so be the person that does. Also, you don't know how you've touched the lives of others, so if you "unfriend" them, it could be hurtful when you mean more to someone than you think, even if you are out of touch. I am thankful for my family. I am thankful for my friends. I am thankful for you. #projectrefriend"
Most of my life, I have had a problem reaching out to people that I haven't heard from in awhile. I have told myself things that are absolute creations of my own thinking:
"They're probably too busy."
"They probably don't remember me anyway."
And the worst one of all, which I have said to myself more than any other: "They probably don't care."
Why I thought this way, I could not tell you, but I realized it was a problem because there were many people that touched my life that have drifted away from me. I voiced this concern plenty, and I was always told that it was a natural way of life: "people just move on and do their own things. That's life. You can't stay friends with everyone forever."
I understand that people continue forward and live their own lives, but do they know their impact on others? Do they know their impact on me?
I have learned over the years that people are truly AFRAID to reach out to others just as much as I was afraid to reach out. People will go years missing someone without writing a letter or reaching for the phone because they fear that this person won't care.
It's amazing in this day and age where we are more connected than ever before that we are simultaneously just as disconnected. I have a firm belief that Social Media, as great as it is, has tricked us into thinking that everyone is closer to us when in fact they are just as distant as they were before Social Media. It's just this time, we only THINK we're connected because we see what they're doing. What they're having for lunch. Who they're marrying or breaking up with. What they received as gifts for the Holidays. We FEEL connected to these people because we see what they're doing through photos and video.
Ask yourself when the last time you actually connected with this person. The answer may surprise you.
November 17th, 2014, people talked about National Unfriend Day, a day to unfriend those who were "clogging their friends list" or "didn't matter" because they posted stuff that wasn't interesting or annoying to them. The idea came from a video on the Jimmy Kimmel Live YouTube Channel, where Mr. Kimmel's intention is for people to share the video on others Facebook walls as a warning that they will soon be unfriended for a list of annoying Social Media habits. The video is intended to be comical, but posting such a video on someone's wall is arguably hurtful, especially if this is your first contact with the person in awhile.
That's why I am launching my own personal project I like to call #projectrefriend. During this project, , I will be doing the following:
1.) Reaching out to every single person on my friend's list, no matter how long or not I've talked with them, and acknowledging their impact on my life, big or small.
2.) Encourage others on my Social Media pages to reach out to someone else; at the very least, one person that they truly miss and want to reconnect with, and acknowledge their impact.
Doing such a thing creates extreme vulnerability, but it is the only way that others know that you are sincere and genuine. I will do this for every friend on my friend's list until its completion. I do not expect others to reach out to everyone on their friend's list too, but if I influence you to reach out to at least one person that you miss and haven't talked to in years, even if they aren't on Facebook anymore, I think I will have made a difference. And please, hold yourself accountable and let me know when you do it and share your story with me. I'm happy to hear it.
What about the people that you barely know that are on your Facebook friends list? You know, the ones that you met at a party or other social function one time and added them the next day. Reach out and see what happens. Reconnect. Make a new friend that's already there. It could open doors, new opportunities, and most importantly, lasting friendships. You'll never know until you do it.
#projectrefriend
