random fact friday (intro)

I have a new found desire and am beginning an initiative to "make life more about life."

A few weeks ago, I found myself in a room meeting new people in a new small group. We were making introductions and were asked to share our name, occupation, how long we'd attended our church, and something interesting about ourselves. Well . . . surprisingly to me, it seemed that a LOT of the people there either struggled to come up with something interesting OR flat out said they didn't have anything interesting to share.

And you know what I thought? 

What?!?! Uh-uh. That's gotta be wrong. I know there are TONS of interesting things about every person in here. How is this a hard question?? 

So I did a short experiment that week and asked three friends this same question and scenario. And do you know, two of the three had the same response as most of the folks in that room?? When they came up with nothing, I responded right away with something interesting I knew about them--the fact that one had zip-lined in Costa Rica (!) and that the other had once road tripped it from Alabama to Arizona (!) --both pretty interesting facts if you ask me! 

And both friends, when I said these things to them were like, "I didn't think about that!" Which honestly surprised me, again, because it just seemed so obvious to me. 

photo credit anthonyjohncoletti.photoshelter.com

Saguaro National Park in Arizona, via Pinterest

So then I thought . . . 

Okay. I don't think people realize how interesting their lives really are! And maybe that's because there's not a filter or a way to help recognize these things, and so that's what I want to provide here. A platform to filter life. A one year venture into "making life more about life." Getting past the idea that you can live, but not "live." Let's discover some of those hidden nuances of life and begin to see ourselves and our lives more positively. 

So why does it matter? 

Because when we realize these interesting things about ourselves, it does affect our self-view, AND also, when we're more aware of who we are and the unique things in our lives that have made us who we are, then we become more apt to share and then become more easily relatable to others . . . and isn't that the beauty of life? Relationships? 

So here's what happened next and where we are today . . . 

After concluding my short experiment, I came home that night from my part-time Barnes & Noble Cafe job (a fun fact you may not have known), and I journaled about all of this. I began my own "interesting" list that I thought would be good for general record keeping and will also serve to provide direction on my blog for: 

"Random Fact Friday" . . . which starts today! I'll post a new fact and short background most every Friday that stems from my life (or maybe one of yours!), and will include a question or two for you to think on how it may or may not connect to your life. Some will, and some won't. Some are serious and some are light (probably mostly light). And some will probably be more or less interesting, depending on who you are . . . but . . .

The point isn't to impress everyone you meet with a lot of razzle and dazzle (though, I do love some razzle and dazzle), rather, the point is to come up with your own collection of interesting tidbits you can treat like a personal bank. Invest a little time each week into thinking more about the parts that make up the sum total of your life experiences, and pull one out to share when needed!

My bet is that it'll make life more full and fun for everyone!!! 

an easy way to keep up with your list

Instead of just keeping it in your head, why not write it down? Things always stick better in my mind when I do. And to make it easier for you, I've created a PDF file that you can either type straight into and save on your computer, or if you're like my BFF Jill, (the zip-liner), then you can print out and write directly on it with your own beautiful hand. Each post will include its own PDF, so it'll be easy to keep up with throughout the year. You can come and go as you'd like!

Okay. Ready now for random fact #1? Check out the post, "me, the 7 year-old entrepreneur."