The older I've gotten, the more I have found myself straying outside my comfort zone, either purposefully or by pure misadventure. Whether it is that I'm in an unfamiliar place with unfamiliar people, or I find myself feeling in ways that may have been foreign to me before, I am quickly learning that these experiences can be incredibly beneficial. The most obvious benefits I have discovered about these experiences are that they have helped me to become stronger emotionally, more comfortable with being vulnerable, more confident in myself, and more adventurous in general. Here is my take on why this might be the case:

If you take risks, you may get a chance to reap some incredible rewards. If you're like most people, you probably have asked yourself the simple, yet incredibly impactful question, “what if?" With this question implies that there may be some level of regret, whether it is regret of a decision made or not made. This is not to say that every time we ask ourselves, “what if?" that it means we utterly regret our past decisions, but it implies that there may have been a different outcome – maybe an outcome we'd better prefer – had we or had we not done something. You don't want to ask yourself this question so often. I've said it before, and I will continue to say it: If you live your life with your main priority being to protect yourself, you may miss out on a lot of opportunities that far outweigh the risk of getting hurt. Don't ask yourself, “what if?" Go find out.

"The biggest risk is not taking any risk... In a world that's changing really quickly, the only strategy that is guaranteed to fail is not taking risks." - Mark Zuckerberg

You learn a lot about yourself. The situations where you feel the most uncomfortable and vulnerable are usually the situations where you end up learning the most about yourself. When you are made vulnerable is when you are most perceptive to these things, such as how you're feeling, things you may be afraid of, or things you may need to change. Embrace these revelations; they will help you in the long run.

If you do get hurt, the experience will make you stronger. Time and time again we've all heard the cliché, “what doesn't kill you makes you stronger," but it couldn't be truer. In times of tragedy and while we are coping with heartbreak, we are also helping ourselves. By picking up the pieces and putting ourselves back together, we open our eyes and hearts to the people who truly care about us, and who are worth spending our time on, apart from those who don't deserve the same. It enables us to see the world from another perspective, to find coping mechanisms that can help us in the future, because I can promise the next time you get hurt, will not be the last, and it helps us to prioritize our lives in a new, hopefully more productive way.

It can force us to be spontaneous. Being in uncomfortable situations can often force us to just push ourselves. This can be incredible, because it can lead to some of the most unique and unexpected experiences you have. When you are in an unfamiliar setting, you are unsure how to handle yourself, which can cause you to let your predetermined judgments and sense of self out the window. It can be fun to say yes to things you might otherwise have said no to, and you might find that something you were previously afraid of doesn't seem so scary anymore.

So go travel the world, meet strangers, discover different cultures, fall in love, wander aimlessly, get your heart broken, put your pieces back together, thank your friends and family, take a step back, learn valuable lessons, and then do it all over again, but even bigger and even better.