How Everyday Courage Can Brighten Your Day

Did you know that if you talk to a stranger, both of you might end up having a brighter day? In 2014, Dr. Nicholas Epley and Dr. Juliana Schroeder found that while people almost universally expected talking to strangers to be a negative experience, doing so actually left them feeling more positive than riding in silence.

This builds on the “stranger on a train” phenomenon, first outlined by Dr. Zick Rubin in 1975, which found that, paradoxically, people seem to be more willing to disclose deeply personal information to a stranger because of no ongoing social consequences with a person you will never see again. 

Ariel Kaminer of the New York Times conducted her own hilarious experiment on this when she tested a new cab sharing program in NYC. She desperately tried and failed to get someone to share her cab, proving out the “expectations” part of the Epley/Schroeder study. She even offered to pay for the cab in full, which she says only made people more suspicious (“Welcome to New York,” said an amused cop watching her fail in her experiment). She finally succeeded, and found a young woman in finance who discussed money, politics and religion…before their cab fare even reached $5!

So maybe take a chance on striking up a conversation with a stranger the next time you have the opportunity and it can brighten your day.