Day 22 - Hello

Today's agenda, smile and say hello to 100 people. That may sound easy and even a bit silly, but let me tell you, after being repeatedly ignored it's hard to work up the courage to attempt your next "hello". It's sad that we as humans live our lives in a bubble and walk around ignoring others. What is it that makes us afraid to reach out to others? Why is it that we're looked upon as weird if we say hello to a stranger? Why is it that being cordial is seen as the odd behavior, versus ignoring others?

Hell bent on moving outside my comfort zone and challenging others, I started my morning walking through my neighborhood greeting everyone I saw with a cheerful, "Good morning!" paired with a smile. I was ignored. I was stared at as if I had lobsters crawling out of my ears. It was disappointing to say the least. My third "Good morning!" fell upon a fast walking couple that slowed a moment to smile and say good morning in return. That was all the encouragement I needed to continue with my project.

As the day progressed, I lost count of how many people I said hello to and started over numerous times. My official count (that I actually kept track of) was 98 hellos. I'm sure those added with my "do-overs" propelled me well into the mid-100s. Despite being snubbed numerous times, my "hellos" did make quite a few people smile and some people even stopped to respond and ask how I was doing.

Overall, project "Hello" was a success, but it was definitely exhausting! The majority of my 98+ "hello" responders smiled and seemed genuinely glad someone showed an interest in them. For me, the positive outcome was worth setting my fears of rejection aside. While I can't promise to greet 100 people every day, I'll definitely be giving away more smiles and hellos in the future. After all...

"A smile is the shortest distance between two people." - Author Unknown