Why Building Connections Could Save Your Life

Without relationships, you could die of loneliness — literally.

A study concluded, ‘Actual and perceived social isolation are both associated with increased risk for early mortality.’

‘Loneliness — both its objective state and feelings of loneliness — is also the psychological state most associated with suicide, to the point where it’s safe to say that while not all lonely people are suicidal, all suicidal people are lonely’ [1]

Building your connections is important because human relationships make up the fabric of your life, along with everyone else connected to you in some way, now and in the future.

I have a small network of snowboarder friends I’m still in touch with. They are rad! Since moving to Australia, I have proactively built up my network
deep and wide. It’s amazing.

You will build confidence by building your network. It’s a mutually reinforcing cycle; this means you will become more confident as your network grows, and as your network grows, you will, in turn, become yet more confident. It’s exponential, where one plus one doesn’t equal two, but one plus one equals three. Two minds connecting and collaborating create more than the sum of their parts.

Psychologically, humans are social creatures. Without a society to belong to, it’s all too easy to become isolated from the group and become a lone wolf. What do you think ultimately happens to a lone wolf? By building connections, you are creating and maintaining a valuable support system. If you need to reach out, there are friends, colleagues, business associates, and family to help you in times of need. Mentally and psychologically, this is a great boost of confidence, because you know people have your back. Likewise, I’m sure you’d have theirs too.

At university, I entered the university halls alone, shy and nervous. I plucked up the courage to introduce myself to my roommates.

‘Hello, my name’s Adam. Can I come to dinner with you, please?’

It was later revealed that they thought I was a random stranger. Fast-forward ten plus years and we are the best of friends to this day. We have a…