Make a personnel connection.

I was (past tense I hope!) the worst at not paying attention to the person to whom I was engaged in doing business with...clerk, teller, service person, etc. Answering questions with a barely audible "yes please" or "no thank you" without looking directly into their faces. Eyes were usually directed down into my purse as I scrambled for the right card or ink pen, towards a clock on the wall or wrist watch, or embarrassingly starring off into space while contemplating dinner plans or something clearly more important, or so it seemed. This wasn't done from a place of superiority, I'd rather blame my lack of attentiveness on the fact that I've always been a bit of a social dork. You know the type, painfully shy beyond reason.

Anyway, when I began my mid-life crises search for meaning, I decided I would make a conscious attempt to make a personnel connection with every individual I came into contact with. The exercise has given me so much back in return. I have had the most wonderful conversations and met the most fascinating people since I began paying attention to the lives of others instead of my own. When you let go of your fear and embrace the humanity in others, life pays you back tenfold!