Most people use the claim to need to have a “social life” as an excuse for relaxing more.
“I can’t neglect my social life.”
What the hell does that even mean? And of course you can. Nothing bad is going to happen. Let Joey get drinks with someone else this time.
Do you even know what social means?
“Social – relating to society or its organization.”
Huh. Interesting. Is eating cupcakes with Marsha related to society? No? Weird.
Most peoples’ hang-up is they confuse being social with downtime.
Here’s my social life:
- Each morning, I write. A lot of people read it. I answer all their messages and read all their comments.
- At my side gig, I like, share, comment and respond to what others have written.
- Whoever’s also at school I have coffee with or go to lunch.
- I share bits of my day with my family and old friends via WhatsApp.
- I’m in lots of Slack channels these days. Whoever has questions, I try to help or catch up on what’s new.
- Whenever I can, I send helpful study materials I find to friends taking the same exam and we talk about how to best learn the subject.
- I get multiple emails from friends, fans and followers each day.
- When my classmates and I have a new idea over dinner, we often stay up late or have long coffee breaks, shooting around ideas.
I’m pursuing all my goals. I don’t sit in the park at 4 PM with a beer and a bratwurst. But that doesn’t mean I have no social life.
We always talk about “doing something together.” Most of the time, we really mean “doing nothing together.”
Why is that?
Why do we always have to sit at a café or eat out or get beers or go to a club or the cinema or sit in the park or lie on the beach to “be social?”
Aren’t we just as social when we’re working together, brainstorming together, sending pitches together, answering questions and solving problems together?
When spending time with friends, it’s the “with friends” that matters. Not how you spend it. Nowhere does it say that time can’t be productive.
A social life is any kind of life that benefits others.
For some that’s having a BBQ, for others it’s writing a book, volunteering in a forum or building a company.
No. I never neglect my social life. I take it very seriously. And so should you.
