The Power of Reaching Out

Our family still sends out cards every December. Although we don't receive many in return, we enjoy doing it, and it's a way to connect with our distant relatives, old friends, past neighbours, and the families who live in our local community.

That said, I'm not trying to toot my own horn because, in all reality, reaching out once a year is not nearly enough. However, we continue to send cards every year because I've noticed how much this small gesture really means to some recipients since we started this tradition. And the reminder that we're still thinking of them enough to take the time to write and send a card may reach them when they need it most.

Of course, it's easy to get busy and caught up in all the things that make up family life, especially before the holidays. But a thoughtful touchpoint goes a long way. And this year, after almost missing our card-mail-out deadline, I was reminded of just that.

After the holiday celebrations ended, I found an article summarizing Dan Pink's study of the most common regrets in life. According to his research, the most significant theme in regret was simply not connecting or not reaching out. In Pink's study of 15,000 responses from over 100 countries, this theme was consistent across languages and cultures, lending to the motto, "When in doubt, always reach out."

While I haven't read Dan Pink's most recent book, "The Power of Regret," I do believe wholeheartedly in the power of reaching out. Furthermore, this idea of "when in doubt, always reach out" led to an interesting discussion between my husband and me. We talked about how we will choose to be more present and show up for those we care about. We talked about the example we hope to set for our daughter and how we'd like to be remembered by others after we're gone.

This is why this month, I challenge you to reach out to someone you haven't heard from in some time or someone you've been thinking about but weren't sure how to (re)connect with. Chances are, they will be thrilled (or maybe even flattered) to hear from you.