Is There Something I Can Do for You Today?

Photo by Priscilla Du Preez on Unsplash

You may remember that heart- and soul-satisfying final question from Bill Murray at the end of the now-classic film Groundhog Day. The question is symbolic of his character’s hard-earned transition from a self-focused, ego-serving second-rate weather anchorman to a kind and gentle person who wants only to serve others.

Clearly, the Bill Murray character is an extreme example. Most real people live lives that are somewhere along the spectrum of “me to other.” If you were motivated to become one of my website subscribers, you’re no doubt already well along that spectrum.

You don’t need to have seen the film to appreciate its message. What greater gift can we give to one another and to the world than that of wanting to serve? Not with an agenda or a profit motive. Not because there’s something in it for us. Just because “it’s the right thing to do.” Just because the world is in desperate need of more “other-ness” and less “me-ness.”

What I’m offering—in blog pieces, in the book I’m publishing, and in articles I’m writing for other venues—are strategies that my fellow socially shy introverts can use to overcome the knee-jerk fear response that prevents us from connecting with strangers when we have the opportunity.

I can speak with authority about how to do this because I’ve tested those strategies literally in the marketplace. Personal stories from my own life that illustrate the strategies I’ve found successful are threaded throughout the book.

If you’ve read this far, I know I’m communicating with a kindred soul—even if you’re an extrovert and don’t need encouragement to connect with others, including strangers. I’ve been told by extrovert friends who are among my advance readers that it reminds them to pay attention when they’re out in the world so they remember to do what comes naturally to them. 

Introvert or extrovert, scared or confident, what’s important is to remember that our mission as members of the human family is to go into a hurting world and offer to others the gift of a genuine smile and simple acknowledgement.

Isn’t this what we all want? To know that we’ve been seen? To feel the power of connection with another, however brief?

Without going through the full transition from self-focus to other-focus the Bill Murray character made in Groundhog Day, we can embody the spirit of the question “Is there something I can do for you today?” with a simple smile to a stranger.

Even from behind a mask.