Underestimating how others will respond to us reaching out does not end with more meaningful conversations; it extends to almost any action we perform to reach out and connect positively with others: expressing gratitude to another person, writing compliments, performing random acts of kindness, etc.

Even in times of isolation, you can do more good than you may think by reaching out to others. And before that, you have to get over the impulse to underestimate how positively others will respond to your action.

We fear how the other person will respond. We think, Wi...