Circle Back: LITSG’s Social Connection Crusade!
“Inaugural Big East game!!” was the text the popped up an early Friday morning last month. It was quickly followed by a blurry picture of a football game ticket from August 1991. Nothing prompted the text. In fact, I hadn’t heard from my friend Pete for months before that. I smiled and our text banter began.
We live in an era of epic loneliness. Last year, Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy released an advisory calling attention to the public health crisis of loneliness, isolation, and lack of connection. Murthy called it a silent epidemic.
According to the advisory, the physical consequences of loneliness are meaningful and pervasive. Poor or insufficient connection leads to a 29% increased risk of heart disease, a 32% increased risk of stroke, and a 50% increased risk of developing dementia. Lacking social connection increases risk of premature death by more than 60%. In terms of our lifespan, according to Murthy, continuing to live in loneliness is equivalent to smoking up to 15 cigarettes a day.
We live in a world that is creating greater and greater loneliness. As our society has grown and evolved over the last decade, loneliness became the unintended consequence of advancement. Technology makes it easier than ever to have everything we need delivered to our homes in an instant. No longer do we have to go to stores, restaurants, or even doctors as so much of what we need is brought to our home or to our digital device. Work from home or hybrid work environments will continue to fuel a societal shift to more time spent at home and fewer interactions with others.
Can’t Make it Alone is the one principle of LITSG I have personally given the most thought and attention to since writing The Life Is Too Short Guy. I have reflected extensively on spending quality time with friends and family. A simple call, text, email, or letter to someone I haven’t spoken to in a while is a great way of show them I am thinking about them. Creating opportunities to bring people together is one of my top priorities.
My exchange with Pete went on for a while after his innocuous note to me. We reminisced about a game over thirty years ago and we talked about other friends who have been part of our lives. My favorite part of the text exchange was his note, “LITSG! Life is too short for me not to spend the 2 minutes to snap the photo, send to you, with a promise of making your day!”
This is the essence of LITSG and Can’t Make it Alone. Take a few minutes today to reach out to someone you haven’t spoken to in a while. Think about ways to strengthen relationships with friends and family. It is an investment in your health and happiness and an opportunity to enhance someone else’s.
Commit to reaching out to someone new or someone you haven’t spoken to in a while, every day this week. Build and strengthen your friendships and make the world and yourself happier one smile at a time. Life is too short for loneliness.
Regards,
Scott