It Only Takes a Minute

Imagine this.

It’s Thursday morning. The week feels long, things have been tough and you’re feeling down. You cringe at the sound of your alarm because the last thing that you want to do is get up and go through the motions that all feel so meaningless.

For some reason, life has been feeling heavier as of late.

It takes everything you have to just get out of bed each morning and this one is no different. Despite your best efforts, you can’t seem to escape the darkness that feels all-consuming. Beneath it all, you feel alone. And that makes it all so much worse.

bzzzzz. bzzzzz.

That’s your phone, but you don’t talk much with anyone.

Who could this be? What could they want?

It’s _____________.

Unsure if you’re still sleeping, you sit up in bed and open your eyes wide. Woah, you haven’t talked to ____________ in three years. Now awake and curious, you open the text. It reads….

“Hi [insert name]. I know that it’s been a while since we last talked, but I was thinking of you this morning and wanted to reach out. I wanted to let you know that to this day, you’re one of the [insert genuine compliment] people I know and I wanted to remind you of that. I miss getting to spend time with you like we used to when [insert shared memories]. In whatever you’re doing these days, I’m thinking about you, I’m rooting for you and I’m here for you. I’d love to catch up with a phone call sometime. I hope that you have such a great day!”

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Each morning, I make an effort to compose a message (text/email) to someone who I haven’t talked to in a while. Upon waking up, I think about people who I haven’t I talked to in a while. Most days, a number of faces and names will flicker through my mind until one (sometimes more) takes the spotlight. Before I do anything else, I pick up my phone find their contact and write a message much like the one above. It’s not elaborate and it’s nothing that I don’t believe. I write from the heart in the hopes that my message will reach someone at a time where they need it. I’m sure that most times, people are doing just fine and at best, they’re happy to hear from me. However, there’s always the possibility that my text will land on the phone of a person who feels alone.

I’ve been there.

I know what it feels like to feel alone and to feel down. I can’t tell you how much it would mean for someone to have sent me a message out of the blue showing that they were thinking of me and that they cared about me. Just imagine what the person in the scenario above would have felt waking up to that text. Simple messages like that have the potential to change the course of a day and even shift the trajectory of a life. We might never know from outside appearances and surface level interactions, but I would venture to guess that more often than not, people need stuff like this. The truth is, you might never know if your message made an impact. However, if there’s a chance that it can do some good, big or small, why not send it.

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So, here is my challenge to you.

Tomorrow morning, send a text.

Think of someone who you haven’t talked to in a while. Make it someone who would be surprised that you texted them. Feel free to use the template at the beginning of this blog, but just write a nice message. Make it from the heart and make sure that the recipient knows that you care about them.