Early on in my second semester of college, I made a promise to myself. I’d start learning more. And I don’t mean in classes. I decided to make more decisions without a million perfect reasons and one goal: to grow.

I think that we in this competitive society are often told or implied to stay in our lane. That we can get good at one thing but stepping outside of what you know and are “good” at will only make you look foolish.

Coming from a generation of instant gratification and the quantification of all things, learning and constant relearning of the importance of qualitative value is vital. Refusing to put yourself on one metric, whether weight or likes or grades, allows you to see yourself as an entire being in a world that seems to only want one thing to define you.

As someone who had done the same things my whole life, growing without restriction seems complicated. But when I realized I had a new opportunity in college to try new things with very little consequences, I decided to keep stepping out of my lane. And it’s frightening stepping into the unknown, but finding new ways to improve makes it all worth it.

Previously, I had always made resolutions to improve. But they were already related to tasks I had been doing. There is a large difference between finding the strength to keep trying and finding the bravery and confidence to begin something new.

This new mentality changed a lot of things in my life. By finally beginning to say yes to a lot of opportunities that came my way, I had a much better second semester than the first. I said yes to trips I otherwise would have declined, I became involved in charity organizations on campus, and so much more. Doing things that scare you changes you.

And I'm not saying this one mindset allowed for all of this to happen, or I have no more room to grow but it didn’t stop myself either, which is the whole point. Don’t stop yourself before you’ve tried it.

We as people are not meant to be stagnant and un-evolving. So change. Learning about your growth creates a sense of pride I didn’t anticipate when I started with a little wish to myself a few months ago.

When you approach things with an ambition to grow, the amazing thing is that you become less preoccupied with perfection. Because of this, every situation can be viewed as more successful than previously viewed, when all events had specific goals and benchmarks that needed to be achieved.

So start saying yes. Start making decisions with a need to grow and not merely reach the next logical goal. Don’t make decisions out of fear of the unknown or stop yourself because you fear judgment. Don’t make decisions with a need for comfort or conformity. Make decisions that make you better and stronger in ways that you didn’t know until you tried.