There is one thing in life that everyone has in common. We all have comfort zones. We feel most ourselves in certain places, whether that be with our family, with certain friends or in a certain place, there is no doubt that these comfort zones exist.

Every now and then something comes along and tugs us a little further out of our comfort zone and if you are anything like me, you might push that tugging thing away as far as possible. You might think that staying where you are is where you should be because it feels right. It appears to be pretty great so why would you leave it?

However, leaving where you are comfortable allows for so much growth, a whole lot of messy-ness, a lack of control, a ton of new adventures, a lot of new friends, a new perspective on life, and so much more. Perhaps, slapping away anything away that tries to bring us out of comfort zone is not the best option. Maybe taking that job is not an awful decision, changing the major might be a good thing after all, and buying the plane ticket might take you further than you thought.

This doesn’t look the same for all of us. For me, this looked like moving away, leaving the country for a couple weeks, talking to new people, and just putting myself in situations that led me to rely on God all the more.

What we fail to mention when we encourage those around us to step out on a whim and take a new route is that it’s hard. So I am here to just tell you how it is.

Taking a leap of faith is DIFFICULT. You might get nervous, it might cause some anxiety, you might have to go places you did not see yourself going. You are going to be stretched in a million directions.

After reading all of that you may be wondering why the heck you would ever think of leaving your comfort zone. Well, it turns out the reward is far worth the risk. If you travel to another country you can gain friendships and memories that last a lifetime. If you decide to say yes to the new job, you could end up being a whole lot more content in the long run.

But what it takes is saying "yes”, jumping over every ounce of what is holding you back, and doing it.

Whether it is one baby leap of saying yes to going to lunch with someone new or a huge jump of crossing oceans and borders to live in another country, it can be a challenge that is far worth it.

My motto used to be to avoid all things stressful. If I thought it was hard, that meant it just shouldn't happen. If something was going to give me anxiety, welp, then I would just be sitting that one out. Let me tell ya', that actually got boring pretty dang quick.

Truth be told, I had no clue what I was missing out on when I stayed in my comfort zone. That is why I am sharing this with you because you never know what could be on the other end of saying "yes" to that job, or to that mission trip, or to that date.

Oh and please, still use your brain and take into consideration if something could actually harm you. But please don't let yourself be the one who stops you from crossing oceans, taking leaps, or seeing new things.

Trust that whatever is on the other side of your "yes" is worth it, and if it isn't, you can and will survive. The risk is well worth the reward.