Since humans have started the concept of civilization, learned the art of communication and formed communities, we have spent most of our life with people who either have similar mindsets, cultures and most importantly people who have similar knowledge and exposure. We have always followed the phenomenon of attracting like-minded-people. We try to empathize with people who resonate with us and openly criticize and ignore people who do not. This led to discrimination in humans based on caste, religion, wealth, country, language, skin tone, knowledge, social behavior, age, and many more. This formation of communities has helped humans to feel more belonged but has taken away the much more important thing from us, that is to have a choice. The choice here is to make our own informed decisions on what we like and choose where we belong. Today, wherever you are in the world you do not have a readily available choice especially when the choice is not approved by the community you live in. Adding to that, most people in the world living in communities that have highly traditional mindsets are not even aware of the opportunities and choices available outside their small community.
Having said that, there are certain ways to make sure we are aware of the choices we are not given. The most important way is to get in touch with people who have little in common with you, getting to know them more, and asking the right questions, embracing the differences without having any prejudice. Here are some benefits of interacting with people who are different from you.
- You are exposed to new realities: The world today has so many differences, these differences have become so natural to us that we cannot even show some empathy of there is a little difference, as discussed we are not even trained to try and empathize. Talking to new people often can help in developing these skills. The more you explore the outside world, the less your mind is surprised by little nuances (your thinking becomes broader). This can lead to people being less judgemental and more accepting of others. It also gives an understanding of how the same physical world can be so much different for a different set of people. People from the west can understand the cultures of Asia, people of different religions understand more about each other. Rich can empathize more with the poor. This can, in turn, help build a peaceful and humanitarian world.
- You make new friends: I was always an introverted person when I was a kid. I was happy with a handful of friends I had, I share so many similarities, they made me feel welcomed, involved, and belonged in this world. Until, recently, when I was all alone on a solo trip to an unknown place far away. I had no choice but to interact with new people, start conversations, make new friends, this I believe has changed my life forever. I always had this feeling, I always believed I can live alone in any place and at any time, I can survive. But, I never asked myself ‘why should I live alone?’. Maybe if I asked this question myself earlier, I would have started making friends much earlier as it is not just about having someone to talk to, its also about how much we understand the differences in the lives of people.
- Your personality improves: When we interact with different people with a clear and open mind, we tend to understand them more. This helps in building better relationships, maintaining them, also builds character to thrive in your career, whatever field you decide. I have seen so many changes in me, that I would believe that I was a different person back when I was an introvert. I not making any statements here and saying that introverts are good or bad, I am just saying, with increased interactions among people we can see a better and more empathetic world.
- Finally, You become more aware of yourself and be more confident: It is surprising to think that we can know a lot about ourselves when we talk to people who we don’t know, isn’t it? But, yes, it is true. In fact, I also believe that the problem of a situation is you, the solution is also you. But, to find the solution we need to know the problem, and to know the problem we need to know why it is a problem. This ‘why’ can be answered when we interact with people around and understand the differences. We need not copy or tend to follow anyone’s footsteps but we can always improve our deficiencies to be a person. When we make progress in personality development our confidence improves. This new-found and evolved confidence with a much better understanding of who we are can help us chose the right paths and be successful.
The list here may not be exhaustive, however, this can act as a starting point in our lives and help us find our path.
I, now urge people who have not been so welcoming in their lives towards the differences, different people, or have always procrastinated in trying out new things to try, and your own discoveries, lead a happy and fulfilling life. It doesn’t matter you are 10, 70, married, single, Indian, Westerner, I am sure you do believe that there is always something new and something more we can do from our lives.
Thank you!
If you have similar experiences or comments on the topic, please share in the comments, a discussion can be on.