Do you ever think of someone who you haven’t heard from in a long time and wondered how they are doing? Or maybe you had a disagreement with someone and haven’t talked to them since, waiting for them to break the ice. This is a good time to reach out and say hi.
It doesn’t matter how long it has been, or if it should be the other person who makes the first move, or whatever other excuse you can come up with for not doing this. If there is someone who you would like to catch up with, then be the one who initiates contact.
Action – There are few emotions more painful than regret. Yet every day we put things off that if we never got them done, we would regret it. We also fail to get in touch with people who, if we were told had passed away, would make us feel bad for not having talked to them at least one more time. Sometimes there is nothing we can do, and sometimes there is. If there is someone you would regret not ever talking to again, then try to do something about it now.
Steps – If you have completely lost touch with someone, try to find them on the internet. With Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter and Instagram, there is a chance that if you don’t find the person you are looking for, you can find someone who knows them. Give it a shot. Even if you find the person and they don’t respond back to you, at least you tried.
It can be very healing to do this and to reconnect with those who were important to you in the past. Don’t underestimate how much of a relief it can be to either rekindle an old friendship or to heal a past hurt. Getting any kind of closure is better than having none.
Why It Makes You Feel Better – Again, avoiding regret at any cost is enough to make this worth trying. Catching up with someone from the past can bring up lots of feelings and may clear up some things or reveal pain that you never dealt with. Buried feelings can cause many issues that we are unaware of until they are uncovered. If there is a particular person who you think about often, there may be a reason for it that you won’t know until you try to find them.
Example – If you have ever been to a class reunion you will understand how much fun this can be, or also how therapeutic it can become. Seeing people who were friends or enemies can allow you to deal with many feelings that you weren’t capable of understanding when you were younger. And remembering who you were is also a great way to realize how far you have come.
The popularity of social media platforms like Facebook show our need to have a network of connections and to stay in touch with others. Use it to find the person or people who you want to contact. If you find them, just reach out and say hi. You might make their day too.