Is it legal to be this good looking?

I follow popular digital content creator Anna Zubrytska (@annet_aleks) on Insta. She hands provocative handwritten sticky notes to random strangers and then runs away. One note might say: ‘Is it legal to be this good looking?’

What I love about her work, apart from being gobsmacked by her chutzpah, is the pure sense of fun she brings to the world.

I never knew there was a term for this kind of thing: social courage.

I discovered the term through Nick Bendel, who set himself the extraordinary challenge of having lunch with 500 complete strangers. Six years later, he’s written a book about it, The 500 Lunches Effect. I’ve just ordered my copy.

One part of social courage is the nerve to make the first move with another human being. Anna and Nick are obviously operating at the Olympic end of the spectrum.

A friend of mine, Verity Craft, did a lovely version just this week.

She was coming to Melbourne to visit friends and put a post out to her LinkedIn network:

‘Who’s in Melbourne and keen to meet up for drinks or dinner?’

Simple.

But I thought, would I do that?

Because posting I’m here. Who wants to see me? carries social risk. What if nobody replies? Or worse, what if you end up having dinner with one man called Trevor who wants to explain crypto.

But guess what? We all had dinner last night and it was a blast. Thanks so much, Verity!

My social courage is all over the place. Some days I’m probably an eight. Other days I would happily stab myself with a fork rather than make the first move or make small talk.

What about you?

Out of 10, where would you put your social courage?