Reaching Out Is Growth

Reaching out to someone out of our immediate network and social circle can be a daunting task. As social creatures, we are used to mingling and socializing with people we are familiar with such that reaching out will require us to step out of our comfort zones.

I would like to quote a 1973 landmark study called, 'The Strength of Weak Ties', where Mark Granovette of John Hopkins University found that the best leads for job opportunities are more likely to come from your more distant acquaintances (weak ties) rather than your close friends (strong ties). And the reason is this.

Weak ties are the people we have met and do not currently know well. This can be through casual acquaintances, hi-bye friends we see in school, or former schoolmates and workmates we previously met. Strong ties are people we are closest with, our family and best friends, our immediate social circle and people who got our backs. Yet, the weakness of strong ties is that they can hold us back by providing feelings of comfort and familiarity, and other than support, they may have little to offer. After all, these are people whom we vibe with and have numerous similarities in many aspects. As such, people of weak ties can give us access to fresh ideas and perspectives. Communicating with people with weak ties requires us to be more thorough and reflective as we speak. We articulate more clearly, be more purposeful in our choice of words to convey a message across and as such, we can grow out of our comfort zones.

Referencing Carol Dweck’s book “Mindset: The New Psychology of Success” where she differentiates a Fixed and Growth mindset. Reaching out allows us to be in the growth mindset, where we get out of our comfort zones and seek to grow and learn new things. Know this - Discomfort is where growth lies.

All you have to do is to start reaching out. It doesn’t always have to be daunting.

We can help make this growth less daunting, more meaningful and probably a lot more fun than you think it would be.

Go grab a cuppa!

Photo by Fernando Hernandez on Unsplash