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Day 17<br />
Talk to 3 Strangers<br />
Ever since many of us were little kids, we were told to never talk to strangers.<br />
While this was done out of a concern for our safety, many men have carried<br />
this mantra over into adulthood. In the United States, we’ve even mythologized<br />
the idea of the strong, silent man that keeps to himself. The reality,<br />
though, is that history’s greatest men were some of its most social. They<br />
were comfortable with anyone, in any situation, and understood the importance<br />
of reaching out to others and expanding their circle of influence.<br />
We are more and more isolated these days. We live in a neighborhood for<br />
decades and never get to know our neighbors. We sit in a pew at church for<br />
years and still know absolutely nothing about the people sitting in front of<br />
us. We don’t know the guys at work who are in a different department than<br />
we are, even though they’re just a few floors up or down.<br />
This lack of social trust is not only bad for our communities, it’s bad<br />
for ourselves as well. So today we’re going to throw off our inner Jeffrey<br />
Dahmer and start up a conversation with people we don’t know…yet.<br />
Why Talk to Strangers<br />
1. Make new friends. We’ve previously discussed the importance of<br />
male friendships. Men who have more friends tend to be happier<br />
and live longer than men who don’t have any good buddies. Many<br />
men, myself included, find making new friends to be a difficult task.<br />
But there are potential friends all around us if we would just get out<br />
of our comfort zone and start talking to some strangers. The dude<br />
who comes into the gym at the same time as you every day? Potential<br />
workout partner. The guy who has an office down the hall from you?