Are you OK?

Are you ok? The day comes around once a year and everyone awkwardly asks, "are you ok?" and give a little giggle showing how difficult and nervous they are of what may come next in the conversation. Rarely does anything other than, "yeah good, you?" such an aussie response. We truly desensitised asking someone how they are. "hey how are ya?"...." yeah good you?"...." yeah good" smile and move on. The cause is great and provoking a lot of us to slow it down, me included.

Last year I set myself a goal to ask at least one person per day if they were okay, I took the moment to absorb the impact and sincerity of my question and I took courses and ensured I had the different paths to direct them for help if they needed it or offered my own. I can tell you it was not easy, sometimes people just laughed and said "good, you?" if my approach was effective people shared raw emotions, deep conversations often ensued, and I cried, often. Circumstances can be cruel, the human mind can be cruel, other humans can be cruel to each other.

This next 12 months I have increased my goal, I will reach out to people I haven’t spoken to in a long time and see how they are, what they have been up to. You always assume people have close friends to discuss things with but that isn’t always the case. I know myself I have dedicated a lot of time to my career growth, personal growth and that took a considerable amount of time over a lot of years. I personally have no regrets as I like the person I am today, and my capabilities are tenfold what they once were. But should my outcomes have not been so positive I am sure I would be more than a little upset with myself about losing contact with so many amazing people.

So why don’t you give it a go 365 days in a year, one person a day, make a call set aside some time for that coffee, spend a little time with the people you live with, and have a deep conversation. You may be surprised, it maybe you that finds it comforting.