Are there opportunities surrounding us which we are not aware of?

Should we greet every stranger we meet?

Everyone has lessons to teach and knows weird things we’ve never heard of. No one can have met all the awkward people on the planet. Already it’s rare to know someone deeply as most of us cover up truths that can be uncovered only by digging into the lightless cave of our soul.

Is taking an interest in and observing those with an opposite lifestyle and different backgrounds than ours necessary to not perish narrow minded about others beliefs? Perhaps growing from strangers stories and their unique perspectives on life spices up monotony and inspires our voids to stop digging our graves.

Opportunity is more likely to happen while relating to others than in between four walls at home, especially with about 7.8 billion people living on planet Earth in 2020; 1 person per opportunity means right now they could be over 7 billion walking opportunities outside our doors? Over polished, the most righteous are floating comfortably at the surface; they don’t sink but neither do they prosper above what’s acceptably necessary. Down below, the jealous sinked holding hand to the skeptic a long time ago, and the most dangerous people still rule relying on hypnotizing looks to implement their popular brainwashing speeches. Let’s not forget the born speechless underdogs those unheard thoughts which are seldom acknowledged. The population is growing at the rate of one birth per second and it seems already predicted that some of those lives will be a waste of time, that said, there must be a mystical reason as to why some babies will be lucky and others will suffer most of their lives; perhaps it’s karma, perhaps it’s unfair but everyone can make a little change here and there with a lot of soul searching, determination and imagination.

Sometimes opportunities are found in the least enticing things.

We visit gyms prior to signing up for memberships, try on new clothes before buying and taste wines before keeping a bottle. So why not scan through people’s first appearance before jumping to conclusions about who they are underneath what can be seen? By automatically assuming to already know everything, at times our fearful pride prevails over grasping our luck.

Why Genuine Interest in Others Makes All the Difference

It’s safe to assume that all beings are different, come from different backgrounds, work different jobs, speak different love languages with diverse senses of humor. However, even with various styles, tastes and different ideas of what’s right or wrong, we do share few things in common; who doesn’t want to be loved or complimented? Who doesn’t like to feel valued? All people are on the same mysterious journey of life, each star follows their own map. Each star is a unique experience to look at. People love to be seen,

people love to talk about themselves, they love to be heard, to hear their name, so listen to them. Let them see your interest in their basic wants, ask questions about their life; to create true connections is about leaving someone feeling better than when you both first met. It takes only one person to make you feel like you matter. Can you add value in someone’s life, how might they be useful to you? If it feels good to receive a compliment from someone who remembers our name and asks us about ourselves, why forget to constantly do the same for others? Much pressure is put on ourselves by trying to be liked to impress people, while in fact, the more genuine interest in other people is shown, the more likely they’ll return the favor.

On being genuine.

It takes only few seconds to be sincere:

You can call someone to tell how much you love them. You can call a cashier by their name, smile at sad faces, randomly say hi to your neighbors, you can even message a recently promoted frenemy to say – Congratulations!

Showing genuine interest in strange friends doesn’t have to be a life changing act. You cannot always give someone your phone or bring them back to your home. To be genuine doesn’t mean acting over the top, you can make a difference in someone’s life simply by showing interest, by making them feel like someone cared for them, for an unforgettable moment.

12 Genuine Friendship Quotes

1- “Don’t walk in front of me… I may not follow. Don’t walk behind me… I may not lead. Walk beside me… just be my friend.” Albert Camus

2- “Genuine love is rarely an emotional space where needs are instantly gratified. To know love we have to invest time and commitment…’dreaming that love will save us, solve all our problems or provide a steady state of bliss or security only keeps us stuck in wishful fantasy, undermining the real power of the love — which is to transform us.’ Many people want love to function like a drug, giving them an immediate and sustained high. They want to do nothing, just passively receive the good feeling.” Bell Hooks

3- “A friend is someone who knows all about you and still loves you.” Elbert Hubbard

4- “Love your neighbor, even the ones who do not show you the same courtesy. You can’t expect to receive love if you’re selective and not really willing to give it. What you put into the world, you will indeed get back, even if it’s not from the person you’re expecting it to be.” Alexandra Elle

5- “Friendship is the hardest thing in the world to explain. It’s not something you learn in school. But if you haven’t learned the meaning of friendship, you really haven’t learned anything.” Muhammad Ali

6- “Ten minutes with a genuine friend is better than years spent with anyone less.” Crystal Woods

7- “Flattery does not encourage the perfect flow of love in the vein of your relationship. Be genuine and speak out what you feel for each other without hiding the painful truth.” Michael Bassey Johnson

8- “Nobody likes being alone that much. I don’t go out of my way to make friends, that’s all. It just leads to disappointment.” Haruki Murakami

9- “Be cautious of every motive behind any action, because not every smile is genuine; sometimes it is just a grin.” Gift Gugu Mona

10- “One cannot judge love. It is a beautiful and sweet feeling to feel. If one judges affection with the wisdom, he or she is just a business person, not a genuine lover.” Ehsan Sehgal

11- “One of the best ways to achieve happiness in life is to restrict your options. The more options you have, the more pain you may suffer. You can reduce your options by developing faith and genuine love.” Awdhesh Singh

12- “No person is your friend who demands your silence, or denies your right to grow.” Alice Walker

6 Ways To Show Genuine Interest in People’s Lives

1. Listen to People Before You Talk at Them

In today’s tech world, giving full attention to a face-to-face conversation is a big compliment to the speaker and a big achievement for the listener. Not listening to the messenger sends out the vibe of disinterest in what is being said. For a thoughtful one-on-one discussion to really happen, look the messenger in the eye and listen to what they’re saying.

Background music is good but perhaps your mobile phone is too much distraction, especially in personal relationships or for your career, correcting your listening skills will help with overall success in life. Like anything else, listening is a skill that can be learned. There are plenty of communication online courses to improve your weaknesses or to sharpen your strengths. Even if you don’t enjoy what someone does in life, talking back to others about their jobs or hobbies, and in a way that makes sense to them, is how you make them feel understood and valued. Having a genuine conversation with another is a strong demonstration of interest in their life.

2. Active Listening

Listening is a two-way street that doesn’t take a genuine listener for granted. Being listened to by someone close to you whenever you need to is practical but is it reciprocal? Doesn’t the listener need someone to talk to too? Isn’t it true that you should be there for them too? Or perhaps you are The Great Listener, the issue is some people aren’t listening to you at all. If someone takes time to listen to you and it’s comforting then be grateful enough to acknowledge it. Too many relationships die because the one who always wants to talk, never wants to listen. Don’t be that selfish person or the other unheard person, get balance or get someone else.

3. It’s All About You? It’s all about you talking all the time? Sometimes it would be nice to talk about ourselves all of the time, obviously if that was the case, many of us would walk the earth feeling misunderstood. Let others have their turn, otherwise they might as well go talk to a wall.

4. Dismissing Others No More

You’ve ever insecurely confided a worry to someone and they’ve dismissed you as unimportant? If you’re being snubbed, the tonality and exact words used by the dismissing messenger clearly confirms that they don’t care about what you’ve just told them. In general this is done because in the opinion of whoever you are talking, what happens to you isn’t as important as impressive as what they have already achieved or endured. Needless to say, such self centered individuals are awful for doing this indeed, they can’t wait for you to stop talking so they can immediately start talking to you about their own problems instead. Obviously avoid doing this yourself to someone else, keep up the charming voice tone and stay aware of when you might be unintentionally dismissing another person.

5. Speak Their Language

Everyone perceives and expresses love in their own ways. In all types of love relationships, the key to interacting with another person in a way that matters to them, is to find out their love language and to then communicate accordingly. To understand someone’s love language, remember there are five kinds of love languages; Quality Time, Receiving Gifts, Physical Touch, Words of Affirmation, Acts of Service. That explains why at times we feel disconnected from those we love. So find out your love language and tell others about it. As if you both speak a different language, they might not know that their love isn’t felt by you and vice versa.

6. Ask Good Questions

Regardless of knowing someone else’s most dominant love language, who does not like the comforting feeling of receiving exclusive attention from quality times spent with those we like most. But since time to waste is becoming scarce, everyone is busy. That’s why making the effort to spend quality time together will be worth it, plus love is good for your health.

And genuine connecting can be as simple as asking the right questions: When you’re together, focus on what is been said then, without making the other feel intrusively interrogated, ask them a few thoughtful questions about the topics that seem to matter to them.

Often, taking care of a couple of details does make all the difference, such as a couple of personalized questions that help moving a conversation along to better flowing waters while whoever you’re talking to feels heard, appreciated and valued as a result of you showing a special interest into what’s happening in their lives now.