Episode Transcript
[00:00:11] Speaker A: What's worthwhile considering what we consume, believe, say and do towards peace of mind, vitality of body, and joy of spirit? I'm Ramsey Zimmerman. Here's some more healthy living, motivation and discussion.
Hey there, it's Ramsay here.
Why is it that some people seem
[00:00:34] Speaker B: to have a group of friends and others don't? You know what I mean. Not just people, you know, not just people you see from time to time, but a group, a few people where there's some rhythm, some cohesion, some sense of belonging. That sounds good, right? I mean, mean, I think a lot of us want that, those kinds of relationships, and yet they don't always seem to happen.
[00:01:03] Speaker A: Most of our friendships are lucky if
[00:01:05] Speaker B: we can maintain them one on one.
[00:01:07] Speaker A: You catch up here and there, grab some coffee once in a while.
[00:01:10] Speaker B: But it's tough to get schedules to match up, so you trade some text now and again. And those are good. I mean, those matter, but they don't always turn into something more.
They don't usually expand. Often they fall off. And I've been thinking about why that is.
I think part of the answer might be the number three.
Three is a powerful number, and it shows up in culture a lot. You've got Goldilocks and the three Bears.
I mean, that whole story pivots around the number three. One's too hot, one's too cold, and one's just right.
Then there's the three musketeers.
[00:01:48] Speaker A: They went so far as to make
[00:01:49] Speaker B: a slogan out of their friendship. One for all and all for one.
I'm old enough to remember Three's Company for you youngins.
[00:01:58] Speaker A: That's an old TV show where basically
[00:02:01] Speaker B: every episode was based on a hilarious misunderstanding between the three friends.
And of course, friends.
That was Must See TV when we were in school. And we all thought, yeah, that's it. That is what life is supposed to look like after you graduate. You got your people, you got your group, you just show up and life happens together.
But in real life, it does not usually happen that way. Two people, one on one, that's a friendship. And then three people, that starts to feel like something else. It's still small, it's still personal. But now there's a different kind of energy, a different kind of balance.
It's not all resting on one connection anymore.
Maybe we think of a group as something bigger, something that already exists, something you join.
But maybe that's not how it works, though.
Maybe a friend group doesn't start with a group. Maybe it starts the moment that two friends become three.
The moment you're talking with one friend and you both realize you know someone else, a mutual friend or just a mutual acquaintance, someone who might fit, and you actually do something with it. Hey, we should all grab some coffee sometime. Hey, you should come join us. Hey. I think you guys would get along something simple. But a moment like that requires us to do something intentional. We would need to act on it to make it happen, but we usually don't. We keep our friendship separate. We. We stay in our one on one lanes.
It's tough enough to keep those relationships going, and nothing really grows beyond that.
I'm guilty of this as much as anyone. I am lousy at reaching out. I think of someone I haven't talked
[00:03:50] Speaker A: to in a while, or I think
[00:03:52] Speaker B: about introducing to people, but it's tough to act on it. I don't want to bother them. It's been a while. They're probably busy. Maybe it'll be weird.
And so I don't do anything. But imagine this.
Think of a person like that, who you might want to reach out to, who you haven't touched space with in a while.
If that person reached out to you today out of the blue, what would your reaction be? Would you be bothered? Or would you smile when you saw their name pop up on your phone? Would it feel like an interruption? Or would it feel like something good just showed up in your day?
Or if they were like, hey, me and so and so were talking the other day and your name came up and we both thought it would be cool to see you. So do you want to come hang out with us? Wouldn't that feel pretty good? Because if it would mean something to you, there's a good chance that it would mean something to them too, right? We hesitate because we think we're bothering people, when in reality we might be the exact message they needed today.
And maybe that is the small step that leads to something more.
Not forcing a group, not organizing something big. Just staying open to that moment where two friends could become three.
Where you reconnect with someone, where you bring two people into the same space, where something small starts to take shape. Nothing dramatic, just real.
So maybe that's the thought for today.
If you have ever wondered why some people seem to have that sense of connection, that sense of a group, it
[00:05:29] Speaker A: might not be because they did something big.
[00:05:32] Speaker B: It might be because at some point they did something small.
And for today, that is enough.
[00:05:41] Speaker A: Ready for more? Visit whatsworthwhile.net to listen to podcast episodes. Master your response to the stress by reading my book Stress Response available through Amazon or to get better before burnout
[00:05:54] Speaker B: sets in by requesting the free guide.
[00:05:56] Speaker A: Regardless of where you are in your journey, I'd love to hear from you and talk about how we might move forward together. Please contact me, Ramsey Zimmerman through the website or on social media like Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, or X.
[00:06:11] Speaker B: Thanks.
Ra.
