Doing things on your own with no kind of a safety net can be vital to growing as a person. Whether it is flying alone for the first time, visiting strange places, or simply talking to a stranger, facing the unknown is very healthy for personal growth. In the past few years, I have tried to make it a point to go outside of my comfort zone, and I genuinely believe it helped shape me into the man I am today.

Although just about every parent on the face of the earth raises you to never talk to strangers, that way of thinking is very juvenile. Yes, as a child you should be cautious and not wander off on your own too much, but as an adult, doing so will allow you to reap intellectual rewards. The more different people you meet and share thoughts with, the more well-rounded your way of thinking can be, and the more understanding of other people you can be. Although I am in college, and it is pretty easy to do so, I try to converse with complete strangers on a daily basis. It offers a sense of perspective that allows your decision making to be more intelligent.

Going to foreign places is also another incredible way to grow as a person. By going somewhere where everything seems to be unknown, you learn much more about yourself in the process than you could about the place you are at. Being surrounded by things unfamiliar to you forces you to rely on instincts and the people who surround you. It helps you fine-tune some of your mental processes, ones that most heavily influence how you respond to difficulties. Language barriers, different foods, different cultures, and different norms are all things that intimidate most people at first. If you conquer the fear of the unknown by gaining a sense of understanding of these differences, you will be much better off while facing new things in the future.

Placing trust in others is one of the most important ways to grow because you are putting yourself out there. For many people, including myself, doing so can be quite the leap of faith. Yes, some could take advantage of your trust, but the pros outweigh the cons. Tons of people fear trusting others out of past experiences of being let down, so they learn to put up walls around themselves. It is always important to protect certain truths about yourself, but at the same time, it can turn into an unhealthy habit over time. Learning to let others in, whether the result is good or bad, helps you grow in more ways than you may think. Even in worst case scenarios, when you start to trust someone who only proves to not deserve it, there is a light at the end of the tunnel. Yes, it is an awful feeling to be turned on or let down by someone you thought was worthy of being trusted, but it can help you learn for the next opportunity; just because you were wronged once doesn’t mean that everybody in the future is out to wrong you just as you were before. As I said earlier, many people start putting up walls at this point. By learning to identify the traits of those who do and don’t deserve to be trusted, you create a healthier way of thinking about placing faith in others.