Illustration: Encouragement

Randall Richardson decided to change his ways radically. He never had been an affectionate person, so his 2010 New Year's resolution was to hug 1,000 people. He was urged to do this by friends who made his aversion to hugging a running joke. He kept a journal and had a set of rules for his quest. One rule was that if he hugged a person, he could not get credit for hugging that person again. He fell just 41 hugs short of his goal, but he believes he has learned some important lessons and done some good.