You can wear shorts and a t-shirt and run around in the park, go hiking on the trails, throw frisbees and build sandcastles on the beach. This is exactly the time where you and your kids should be getting social and making friends with other families. Not only for your kids’ benefit, but for yours as well.
Don’t you find it weird that while chilling out on the beach with hundreds of people around you, nobody has the confidence to say one word to each other except for the peeps in their group? To me, life is about making connections with other people; I would hate to be one of those monks hiding inside a cave all my life.
But we still manage to keep to ourselves in public most of the time. It’s only if we are forced into a social situation or stumble upon a good social opportunity do we actually make the effort to interact with someone else. I dream of a world where people are making friends with each other while grocery shopping and there is no fear of making that push to meet someone new in our daily lives.
The thing is, other people are not going to make that effort for you, you have to be the fiery thunderbird that rises above and takes the first step each day to “break the social ice” as I like to call it. That moment you feel hesitant to say something to the person next to you, that is the exact time you should open your mouth. Take the social initiative!
When you see that Mom grabbing the obscure “bread and butter” pickle jar at Shoprite, let her know you dig weird pickles too, and then branch into other favorite foods you like. If you see a family building a sandcastle next to you at the beach, instead of making your own, walk over with your kid and help them build it.
This isn’t a suggestion. I’m not asking you to do this — I’m TELLING YOU. Each day I want you to take a new initiative with your kid to meet new people and make connections. Show your kids how it’s done, and then encourage them to do the same thing. I like to call it, “throwing them into the lion’s den,” sometimes kids have to be thrown into new situations in order for them to experience and enjoy them. It’s like getting into a cold pool, you can’t stick your toes in there and gradually make your way into it, sometimes you just have to jump. That is the kick in the butt that your kids’ sometimes need.
Just like I said in the video, I want you to go onto the Faybo page, (CharismaticKid’s Facebook) and post a comment on the question asked, “How have you been a Superhero and taken the social initiative with your kids so far this Summer?” I’m looking forward to your answers, and I better see some great and unique ways to make friends.
CharismaticClub members, I’m especially looking at you! It’s your job to set an example; you are deemed superheroes by CharismaticKid, don’t you let me down!
Love,
Anthony
