Most people only reach out when they need something. By then, the relationship has to carry more weight than it was built for.
A better habit is to build bridges while the water is calm. Check in with no agenda. Send an article that made you think of them. Say congratulations when good news comes.
These small gestures cost almost nothing. They tell people they are on your mind for who they are, not for what they can offer.
When a hard season arrives, and it does for everyone, those bridges hold. You will have people to call and people who will answer.
Be careful not to keep score. Generosity that expects a return is just trade. Let the kindness stand on its own.
Also let others build toward you. Say yes to the coffee. Answer the message. Accept the help when it is offered.
A life with many bridges is a steadier life, because no single path has to carry you everywhere.
Who is one person you could reach out to today, for no reason at all?
