Monday Morning Madness

Are you feeling crazy and counter cultural today?

Why don't you join my challenge for the week?  It's easy to do and fun, too, I promise.

Ok, so here it is, this week's challenge is called: Roll Call.  The task?

1) Introduce yourself to the person living in the house/apartment etc. next door to you on both sides and across the street.  If you live in an apartment complex, go ahead and introduce yourself to the people who live above and below you, too!

2) Introduce yourself to your local grocer(s), mail carrier, and your child's Sunday school teacher (if they have one!)

And that's it!  If you are feeling REALLY shy about this and it's way outside of your comfort zone, don't worry, I'm here for you.  Here's a script of what you could say:

If you're new to an area, it's the ideal time to do this activity.  You can start each conversation like this, "Hi.  I'm relatively new to the area and I still feel like I don't know anyone.  What's your name?"  If your neighbor, go ahead and ask, "can we exchange numbers and email addresses in case of an emergency?  Please know you can borrow an egg/cup of milk/onion, etc. anytime!"  It's also nice to follow up with a question like, "how long have you lived here?  Are you from here originally?  Do you like living here? etc."   At the very least you will have made initial contact.  And, at most, you'll strike up an interesting conversation.  This could be the beginning of a beautiful relationship!

If you've been in the area a long time, but don't know your neighbors, you could start your conversation like this, "Hi.  You know, we've been living here quite sometime and I still don't know/can't remember your name..." The rest of the conversation can be the same.  You'd be surprised how often people are excited to make contact with you.  And, if they're not, remember this simple truth, "you'd stop caring so much about what other people thought of you if you knew how little they did."  In other words, even if you make a complete fool of yourself or even if the person you reach out to acts aloof or uninterested, it's OK.  The probably aren't spending a whole lot of their time over-analyzing what you've just said or done.  So, be easy on yourself and make a conscious effort to REMEMBER the names and any interesting information that was shared with you.

As always, let me know how it goes.  If you are going to do the challenge, please, let me know!  I want to hear about it!!!!

Happy Monday Morning Madness.