Hi everyone!

I hope you all are doing well! How did those vision boards come along? Last week, I asked you all to envision what you aspire to accomplish in your future, whatever that entails. Glancing past those vision boards pages in my planner reminds me of hopeful things, and keeps my eye on the prize.

Two weeks ago, I mentioned the art of sending random and happy texts to friends, family, or really any living human being. It’s a little chain of happy remarks that continues to expand out there in the world, and I’m so proud of all you readers and followers that have done this. Nice job, team! We are sending some awesome positivity out into this world.

Now, we’re taking it one step further. We’re taking the initiative to reach out. Let’s schedule a time to meet with a person we want to talk to more. Let’s invite that long-lost friend to a coffee date. Let’s meet up with our friends at the mall. Let’s FaceTime with our cousins across the country. Whatever that looks like for you, this week, we are focusing on making time to talk with someone face-to-face.

Now, we’re taking it one step further. We’re taking the initiative to reach out. Let’s schedule a time to meet with a person we want to talk to more.

The reason why I share this with you all today is because I did something really brave for myself recently, and that was reaching out to a few people that I really wanted to have coffee with. I was nervous to reconnect with people that I lost touch with or hadn’t seen in a long time. Then, I had these incredible, most life-changing conversations ever!

Even friends that I have across the country, I have been texting and FaceTiming them more frequently. The best thing that I did for myself was schedule that coffee date, make sure that they were on my calendar, and talk.

Let’s get into it!

OK, but I already do this. Thank u, next.

I thought I did this already, too. There are people that I talk to on a regular basis, friends that I used to see everyday at school, and I felt like I did not need to expand my circle of friendships or anything else further.

So, what happened? I decided to make it a point to try to rekindle some friendships that went astray with busy schedules and moving. I wanted to talk to people who were pursuing passions in the social justice realm that I really wanted to learn more about. The thing that kept me back was the fear of just failure. What if this talk goes poorly? What if they are actually totally different than me? Can I actually afford this sixth cup of coffee this week? This thinking weighed me down.

Oh, about the coffee money thing, I ended up cat-sitting in my neighborhood and earning some money for that ridiculously priced five dollar iced latte, but baking some cookies and making homemade coffee is just as awesome, too! (Which actually, is taking place for me tomorrow. Ingenuity at its best, LOL).

Thanks to some inspirational Podcasts (shoutout to @case.kenny!) and some self-improvement reading, I found that now was the time to act. I couldn’t wait to “run into them” one day, or hope that they would be the ones reaching out. So, I went for it. I sent those people a text, and in all cases, they happened to reply back and were extremely happy to meet up!

I found that now was the time to act. I couldn’t wait to “run into them” one day, or hope that they would be the ones reaching out.

Our conversations were awesome. They were more than just awesome. They have motivated me to dive into different genres of books, start doing that hobby that I was putting off, and even rescheduling another coffee or lunch date with the same person. Plus, I enjoyed all of this over some delicious food (by the way, has anyone ever tried a dragonfruit smoothie bowl? I tried one at Le Pain Quotidien and it was sooo good!).

Text Them Now. Call Them Now. Message Them Now.

For me, I knew that I wanted to meet up with some people that had just escaped my everyday encounters and that had really been genuine and incredible friends with me. Catching up with them has been the best decision I have made all summer so far, and I encourage you now to take that initiative. Take that first step.

I won’t lie to you; it can be kinda scary. What if the other person doesn’t respond? What do I even say? How do I strike up a conversation without it being awkward? Below, I list some of the invitations that I texted my friends. Feel free to copy and paste them into an email or text.

• Hey there, ______! I hope your summer has been doing well! Are you free this week? (after a response later…) Awesome! How about we catch breakfast one of these mornings? I really love…
• Hi, _____! Thank you so much for your text the other day. We need to catch up! Are you interested in meeting for (insert your choice) in the next two weeks?
• Hey, ____! How are you doing? I’m leaving for vacation/school/work/etc. on (insert date). Are you interested in meeting up for coffee/lunch/etc. before then?

These were a variation of some of the texts I sent. Go and send one of these or your own!

Whatcha doin’?

Thank you so much for reading! Now, it’s time to reach out and feel proud. You are making others feel invited, included, and showing them that you care about your relationship with them. That’s freaking awesome. Let me know how this goes!

If you have friends that live far away, consider scheduling a time to FaceTime. Especially with varied time zones, you may have to coordinate a time in advance. I have always loved doing this!

Alrighty, my friends! That’s a wrap for this week’s talk. I’ll talk with you all next week! Stay tuned!

Much love,

Victoria (@talkbyvictoria)

P.S. If you got a subscribe blog post notification this week, that was a total mistake! I’m learning how to navigate MailChimp.

Goal for this week:

Reach out to someone that you have been wanting to talk with. Schedule a time to talk with them face-to-face. You are showing them that you take an interest in their well-being and knowing what they are up to.

Quote of the post:

“A single conversation across the table with a wise man is better than ten years mere study of books.” -Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

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Hey there, friend!

I created this blog to do the heart and soul of the things I love most: sharing optimism, positivity, and encouragement out into the world! My hope is that you leave this blog with the motivation and confidence to tackle the challenges, goals, and dreams ahead of you.

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