Like lifting weights or building our endurance, putting ourselves in situations that take us out of our comfort zones, force us to develop new skills or traits, allow us to come into contact with different people or things, push us to take on new roles, or alter our perspectives or beliefs, are all ways to strengthen our abilities to relate to more people, sympathize and even empathize with others, and have an armory of experience under our belts to fall back on when we are confronted by conflict or uncertainty in the future.