I am a much different person that I was ten, or even five, years ago. I had a nice experience that make me realize this yesterday.
One area of improvement for me has been becoming a morning person. I get up pretty much every day at 5:00am and get after it. I’m reading, learning, working on a side project, etc. I hit the gym every weekday at 7:00, and then get after my workday. It’s been great, and I feel like I’ve conquered the day almost before it even starts.
Part of my routine is a stop at my friendly neighborhood 7-11 for a refill of Diet Coke in my Big Gulp cup. I’m there generally at the same time every day, and have run across some “regulars” there at the same time as me.
Yesterday, I noticed a guy that I’d seen before, and he must have had the same feeling, because he looked at me, nodded, and the decided to introduce himself. It turns out that he parks his car near the charging station in our garage, and so I’ve seen him there, as well.
So, the big difference for me was that I was genuinely pleased to meet him. He was friendly, open, and we chatted. We found out a little bit about each other, and we both obviously made an effort to remember each other’s names by repeating it a couple of times.
Old Nick would have avoided that conversation like the plague, or felt really uncomfortable after, and been generally introverted and hesitant about the whole thing. But New Nick was actually happy it happened, open to meeting a new person, and realized that there are tons of great outcomes, not the least of which is just a friendly conversation a couple of times a week when our paths cross.
Anyway, it was an interesting thing to notice about myself.