So… What is your view of a social interaction? Is your view new, often updated, or an old one that you just have “not had the time” to change? Or, maybe you have not even thought about updating your view of it.
How do you think going to another country, where they speak another language, would change your view of social interaction? A lot right? I went to France – to spend a few weeks picking grapes with my sister and polish people. The polish people do not know english, so we could not really talk to them… however, we could communicate. How? A smile is communication, a shrug is communication, all the little things that you do with your body is communication – that you can take in as input that tells you how the other person is feeling, if you are open to doing so.
How do you become open? Well, going to another country is great for this, as you have no choice other than to go down, or up, to this level of communication. You can either choose to lock yourself into a room, or use your body to communicate. I cannot say I did not have problems doing it, but I chose the latter. It was great.
In doing this, you will learn that you can make friends without being able to talk to each other – that you can make a friend by providing the security, opening-up-aspect, of a genuine smile. You will learn that being social is not such a big deal, and that, because of this, you can assume a social role for fun….In other words, how you view yourself in a social interaction is something that you can change. You take on the social role that fits what you see being communicated through the face or body of the other person.
But, you can start doing this now – without going to another country – by making your main priority, in a social interaction, to care about the other person. This will bypass all egos, all search for validation, everything else than what is important.
