Humans are social beings. Our social life is important and allows us to interact with each other and even define us at some point. Interaction is vital in maintaining a healthy interpersonal relationship. Since young, we have had several friendships, relationships, and met with many acquaintances. Such are signs of having a good social life.
Naturally, a normal person will want to have a healthy social life. And that’s what you’ll learn to do from this blog.
What is a Healthy Social Life?
A healthy social life is where there is a correct balance between your personal life and how you interact with others. Meaning, you have friends and close relations with whom you maintain good contact with, and also have ample time for yourself.
Is Having a Social Life Important?
Having a social life is very important. It helps you have a good relationship with others, which is essential for a smooth living. You create the sense that there are people who have your back – be it economically or emotionally when things are not working out. It also fosters critical virtues such as honesty, responsibility, loyalty, and trust.
How Can I Make My Social Life Better?
There is always room to improve your social life. Most of the time, it depends on your environment and personality. The following are some social betterment tips to employ in a bid to up your social skills.
1. Always Seek Some Alone Time
When we talk about seeking some alone time, the picture that comes to most minds is to avoid contact with others. Hence, you may not consider it as social betterment. On the contrary, it is an essential move because it allows you some time to reflect on yourself. As such, you get to know your personality and know how to fit in with others.
It is more important if you are an introvert and need some alone time to recharge after hanging out with friends. Take a day or more off and meditate as you check on yourself. When it comes to socializing after some alone time, you’ll have the energy to get you in the good books of your peers.
2. Balance Your Online Social Life
Social media influences social life in many ways. It helps people to be closer to each other, and many have met friends and acquaintances from these platforms. However, despite being a socializing tool, it does less justice to the personal touch, which is critical during socializing.
It is common to see people in public places with their faces stuck to their phones. Even getting a hello from such a person is hard, as it seems to be a bother. Such a situation leads to the question, is life better without social media? Not at all, as this technological advancement has come with a lot of benefits that we cannot overlook. The solution is to have a balance between your social media presence and your presence.
Etiquette, especially in public places, is excellent for maintaining the personal touch of socializing. For your friends and followers on the platforms, try initiating a meeting and talk like the good old times. In the long run, your relationships will improve past the presence on the internet.
3. Let Courtesy Lead You
Interaction is a two-way affair and needs contribution from both parties. Before the other party deems you friendly and able to relate to you, they need to be easy and comfortable around you. In this vein, you need to let courtesy guide you.
Courtesy points to having virtues that endear you to your surroundings, including the people around you. For a better social life, the attributes you possess make people either respect you or despise you. With the latter, any form of interaction might go awry.
Start with a presentation, and beginning with a salutation. Doing that shows how respectful you are for the other person or group. If new to you, introduce yourself, and if they are comfortable, they’ll follow suit. During the interaction, avoid interrupting others, unless you have a specific form of friendship where interrupting your friends is not such a big deal.
When talking before people, give room for their opinion, especially in a casual setting. Also, use words such as thank you, sorry, and welcome where need be, to climb your way up a better social life.
4. Learn From Your Mistakes
Mingling is a process; hence, mistakes are common. You might be too loud, obscene, or out of topic, depending on the other party. If you want to up your interaction game, you need to learn from such mistakes and avoid them when you get together with your peers.
If you are an introvert and tend to value being alone most of the time, you might find yourself lacking some social skills. Despite loving your alone time, there are moments when you need to let out some energy and engage in some banter. It may be quite hard, especially if around a new company, but it’s worth it.
In such a situation, try learning how to develop social skills. Read books or articles and blog posts on the internet, which will offer you a more in-depth insight into tackling your social shortcomings. If you have a friend, confide in them and let them introduce you to worthy friends that are reliable.
5. Know Your Company
Another critical factor you need to look at to determine your socialization skills is the friends you keep or the company you hang around. Your friends should be the ones that encourage you and point out your mistakes for you to correct them
When it comes to socializing, a good comrade will help you work towards social betterment even by just talking to them. If they are the understanding type, then the better because if you have an interaction problem, they may help you overcome it.
On the contrary, a wrong friendship will have you ashamed of your shortcomings in interaction and cannot help you overcome them. In school, for example, seek a better social life in college by being selective on close friendships. Go for the productive ones.
6. Know Where To Draw The Line
One thing you need to know is where to draw the line. Knowing boundaries is one of the fundamental affirmations for better social skills. For example, never mix friendships with business, mostly after reflecting on yourself and knowing your qualities. Save a bond by not letting it get into other aspects of your life. In case your relationship fails in one sector, your socialization will be significantly affected.
Also, know what you talk about as a circle and what to avoid. In this vein, you cannot bring up radical philosophical views around religion, race, and other controversial topics as it may seem offensive and disrespectful.
7. Engage In Social Activities
Engaging in social activities warms you up and improves your mingling skills. In such situations, you get to meet several people, and at times they are new to you. As such activities need interaction for the occasion to be fun, you need to bring your best to engage with the others.
Try going on road trips, camping, and other adventure activities, and you will notice the change. The adventure theme makes it easy to let yourself out of your cage and contribute to making the outing as exciting as it ought to be.
Use such things as an outlet for your energy, especially if hooked to social media. The personal feeling of such activities is inspiring, and you may note, it is a better social network than Facebook or Instagram.
8. Be Yourself
Another essential tip that you should know when trying to get a better social life is always to be yourself. At times you might feel that you are not worthy of socializing with a particular group. A wrong way to deal with an issue like that is to assume another persona to fit in. It is akin to being dishonest, which is worse when directed to yourself. With time you will get tired of the act, resulting in exposure as a cheat.
If you cannot fit in, it means you are in the wrong group. Your personality is your definition, and you should never mask it to impress. Impress yourself by owning your flaws.
It’s Time You Improve Your Social Life
Socializing is an essential aspect for humans and promotes a healthy relationship amongst us. Developing social skills has you at the best advantage as you relate with anyone and can get help in case you have a boulder in your path.
Social media has had quite an influence on how we interact. At the moment, we cannot wish it away, more so when you consider the milestones it has helped us achieve. Change of behavior is the solution. The above social betterment skills will help you improve your mingling skills. Remember always to be yourself and let courtesy lead you into having a fulfilling social life.
