As part of "Selling Yourself and Your Ideas", one of my favourite courses at Kellogg, we were required to present a 3 minute 'UTalk'. The Utalk was to be about a specific point of view that you believe in, similar to a TED Talk. The following is the UTalk that I presented tonight.

Imagine that your favorite artist is coming to play in town next week. They are coming to play at one of the best venues in the world, which is right near where you live. Even better, some of the best seats in the venue are still available at an incredibly low price. You’ve never heard this artist play live, but they are an inspiration to you and are the reason you took up music. What do you do?

It was November 2011, I was in NYC and the musician coming to play at Carnegie Hall was Joshua Bell. Joshua Bell is one of the best violinists in the world, one of my favourite artists and the reason I started to learn the violin.

So, what did I do? Instead of immediately buying the tickets, I started asking my friends if they were interested in joining me at this concert. By the time each of my friends had politely declined my offer, the seats were sold out.

I have never seen Joshua Bell play live.

From that date, I made a promise to myself that I would never miss out on something that I wanted to do because of a lack of companions. I strongly believe that most people, including all of you, are missing out on true happiness because they are terrified of doing things alone (and being alone).

With my new mindset, I have travelled the world, heard from some of the greatest artists and thinkers, and even gone to a rave in Barcelona by myself.

At this point, most of you are probably thinking, “that sounds really weird”. And you know what. You’re right!

The first few times you do something by yourself will feel awkward. Sitting down to eat my first meal alone in Vietnam was a traumatising moment. I remember the introvert in me screaming in fear as I stepped through the doors of the club in Barcelona. But on the other side of that pain is happiness. And true enjoyment.

Some people will judge you for doing things alone. Professor Muchin has talked on her podcast about how she thinks that people who eat dinner alone are sad. But she is in the minority. Most people will be actually be impressed that you were brave and independent enough to do what you wanted.

Finally, you will feel lonely at times. There are definitely a lot of moments where I wished I had travelled with others or had my friends with me. The rave in Barcelona was definitely one of those moments. But you will find that if you decide to open up and engage with the people around you, you will never truly be alone.

The next time something you want to do comes along, but you can’t find others to join you, just buy the ticket. We’re all suckers for sunk costs and you’ll thank yourself later.

As for Joshua Bell – I’m going to see him perform in NYC this summer