Befriending someone outside your usual crowd is a small risk that makes your whole world bigger.

A circle of people who are all alike is comfortable and quietly narrows what you consider normal. Someone from outside it brings a different set of assumptions, and the friendship widens your sense of how a life can be arranged. The risk is only ever a slightly awkward first few conversations.

Start one conversation this week with somebody your group does not overlap with. Ask about their week and let it be slightly clumsy. Repeat it a few times before you decide whether it is going anywhere.