I started to add a daily coping tip to the SQLServerCentral newsletter and to the Community Circle, which is helping me deal with the issues in the world. I’m adding my responses for each day here. All my coping tips are under this tag.
Today’s tip is to connect with someone near you, share a smile or chat.
One of the things I learned early in life is that being friendly isn’t hard. Waving, smiling, saying “hi”, aren’t things I always see in the city, but in suburban and rural areas, this happens more.
I also find myself being a little annoyed with myself if I’ve made eye contact and not been the first one to be friendly.
I had a massage recently, and the masseur wanted to talk, so I engaged and spent time getting to know him. I smiled, looked at him (as best I could), and listened to his thoughts. It was an interesting discussion, and even when I might disagree with something, I resisted an impulse to argue and instead just kept a pleasant chat going.
Surprisingly, I enjoyed the hour.