Two Happiness Tips Discussed | The Moral Sciences Club | Big Think:
If I had to name my single greatest flaw, I'd say it's dereliction of friendship. I don't actively cultivate new friendships. They either happen to me or they don't, and mostly they don't because I don't put in much effort from my side. I'm not sure why, but I think it's mostly because I find the idea of extending a hand stressful. Worse, I'm terrible at keeping in touch with old friends. After too much time without calling or emailing or texting or anything, I feel really embarrassed. And then, perversely, that embarrassment makes me more not less averse to reestablishing contact. Then a really long time passes and I'm sort of mortified by myself, but at this point there's no way I'm calling because that would mean facing up to the fact that I'm a terrible friend. This makes no sense. If a friend I haven't spoken to for years suddenly calls me up, I'm delighted. So why should I hesitate to delight old friends? Maybe they'll be mad at me? I really need to get over this. Anyway, go get a drink with a friend tonight! Call an old friend this weekend! (That's right. Later. Not today.)