Remember When Making Friends Was Easy?

If you have children, nieces, nephews, young cousins, whatever, then chances are you've watched them interact with other kids on a playground at some point in time.

It's incredible to watch. They just walk right up to one another and start saying hello. They become friends just by the nature of the fact that they're the same height. They start chasing one another while laughing. They play games that they make up in their head, and they start communicating like they've been friends for years.

Kids are incredible to watch connect with other humans. They are fearless, and there is a reason for this.

They don't have biases, they don't fear judgment, and they don't care what clothing someone is wearing. They don't think about politics, they don't see race, nationality, or status. They just see another human with whom they have something in common, and in that moment, they want a friend.

Then, we become more aware as we grow older. We read the news, we make opinions, we create cliques, we find groups to socialize with, and we start to judge others. We isolate ourselves in some capacity with groups of people who walk, talk, sound and think like us just to create our own layer of mental safety. Our worlds start to shrink, and we start to push away others who don't fit into that environment.

All of a sudden we go from wanting to talk and hang around anyone who is within five feet of us to screening calls, standing in a corner of a room, and definitely not speaking to strangers on the street.

It's a fascinating exercise in human behavior to think that we can make such a dramatic shift over time.

Where I see this show up the most is in the human connections of networking. We go from this place of craving connections to shutting ourselves in. Then, we get a job or we settle into a routine, and all of a sudden, we shut out the masses, prioritizing only a few people close to us. Our relationships begin to dwindle when our blinders go on, and we stop meeting new people and stop opening ourselves up to relationships.

Then, an event happens. A life event, a work event, something that causes us to say, 'I need some relationships.'

I can't tell you how many times I have seen and heard this comment. 'Scott, I should have networked more,' or 'Scott, I really stopped putting in effort networking and only focused on my job.' It's the same story over and over again. People get comfortable, shut out others, have biases against folks, and think they can do it all on their own.

You can't. You need support, you need a community, and you need connectivity through all aspects of your career.

The funny thing is, we were never meant to do this alone. Somewhere between childhood and career-building, we bought into this idea that independence meant isolation. That being self-sufficient meant cutting off the very thing that gives life meaning. Kids don't overthink it. They walk up, smile, and say hello. They connect because they want to, not because it might benefit them later. As adults, we filter every move through strategy, optics, and comfort. We forget that the purest form of networking is just a human connection.

What people miss is that the most powerful relationships in your career rarely start in a conference room. They start in a conversation that wasn't planned. The random coffee. The quick DM. The 'hey, I liked what you said' moment. The truth is, opportunities come from proximity. From staying open, curious, and willing to talk to someone new even when it feels awkward or inconvenient. If you want growth, you have to keep your world wide enough for others to step into it.

So maybe the challenge is to stop acting like you've outgrown the playground. Walk into the room, smile first, say hello, and mean it. Be the one who asks questions without an agenda. Stay curious about people. You never know which simple conversation will change everything. But you'll never find out if you keep standing in the corner.

If you enjoyed this article, forward it to a friend and encourage them to subscribe for free.