Tuesday, March 17, 2009

Ending Your Loneliness Forever

By Joseph Matthews

You know what really sucks? Being lonely!

Not many people like being alone. We're social creatures that mostly display an aversion for being alone. I think all of us seek love.

However, thanks to the advent of television and the internet, more and more of us are lacking any real human contact because we no longer have to leave the house to get our information, entertainment, or even our "social" fixes.

Because of this, our ability to socialize can become greatly impaired. We suddenly don't want to go out in the world. We don't know how to meet new people. Even in a large city of millions of people, no one really knows how to meet each other.

So we go on being lonely, and feeling helpless about our situations.

But the fact of the matter is we are NOT helpless! Being lonely is not something that is forced on us, it's something we choose to experience because we do not make the effort necessary to escape it.

Here are a few things you can do right away to stop being lonely and start filling your life with new and interesting people.

1. Get out of the house!

All too often, people are lonely because they spend too much time ALONE. They are content to whittle away the hours of the day by watching TV or reading a book, or doing laundry. That's not to say you shouldn't do these things, but staying inside your home all day will do nothing to help you meet people.

You should set aside some time - every day if you can - to get out of the house and go somewhere there are other people. It doesn't matter if it's a mall, a sporting event, a trip to the grocery store, or whatever. Just get out there!

2. Talk with others!

You can get out of the house, easily enough. But getting out and mingling with others, well, that's completely different!

By not interacting with other people, you can go out all you want and still be lonely. Hitting a club and talking to no one the whole night isn't any more productive than staying home and reading a book!

If you want to meet new people, you have to TALK to them! There is no way around this.

Talk to both guys and girls, just to get warmed up. The more people you talk to, the easier it becomes.

3. Get contact information

Once you meet people, it's important to get their phone number or email address - it doesn't matter what as long as you get some way to communicate with them in the future!

Talking to people will only get you so far. You'll have met them for the night. But you want to build up a social circle around you so that you always have great people in your life.

When you meet someone you like and want to be friends with or want to date, do not be afraid to get their contact information so you can talk with them again!

4. Follow up

After you meet someone, don't just move on and forget about them. Contact them again! Talk on the phone. Find some time to hang out. Go to a movie. Go to a bar. Go out to eat.

Follow up and hang out. The more time you spend with someone, the quicker you build a relationship with them.

Your relationships allow you to separate yourself from loneliness. The more you have, the less loneliness you'll feel.

Always be meeting new people and develop new relationships. Have fun! Get to know someone new. Before long, you'll have so many great people in your life, you won't remember what it was like to be lonely. - 15437

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