Getting out of your comfort zone can be a truly rewarding experience, one that I am just starting to figure out. Opening yourself up to new experiences can allow you to learn more about yourself and ultimately grow as a person. Sometimes, simply the act of allowing yourself to be pushed out of your comfort zone is a powerful thing – something I myself have recently begun experimenting with. Even if the whole thing ends up being a big flop, it’s still worth doing – trust me.

We’re all just living our lives, trying to get what we can out of it. For most of us our main goal is to be happy – whether that’s through money, fame, power, or whatever. However, life is filled with challenges. One of those challenges for me is putting myself out there. Joining the Odyssey was a huge personal leap and I was extremely apprehensive about it. Those moments of apprehension act as the tipping point. I told myself, “This is one of those moments – go for it.” Writing about personal experiences is not something that comes easy to me, but pushing through those moments of hesitation is what helps us to grow. I’m not sure how this will play out, but it’s an experience and it all started with a “yes.”

Transferring to a school that had Greek life was a vastly different experience for me; it honestly was something that held little to no interest to me. However, presented with the opportunity to join I decided to give it a whirl. It was a huge step out of my comfort zone – actually it felt like I pushing myself out of a plane with no parachute. Though it ultimately ended up being a bust for me I still learnt more about myself in that short amount of time than I had in years. Throwing yourself into the deep end isn’t always the best method, but it can be really effective.

The experience itself isn’t necessarily the important part, the self-reflection that occurs afterwards is. I became hyper-aware of this comfy little bubble I had constructed around myself; I was always shutting myself off to new experiences and never taking any risks. It really is true what they say – no risk, no reward. There was something about pushing myself out of that bubble and forcing myself to do things I wouldn’t do otherwise that has helped me work through some of my anxieties. The personal growth I have achieved through challenging myself in this way has proved that the bigger the risk, the bigger the reward.

So I made a vow to myself; Say yes – even if it scares you.

New experiences can open you up to a multitude of possibilities. I am someone who struggled with being in social situations. Since forcing myself to try new things, I feel more at ease with myself and who I am as a person. Obviously I’m not telling you to always say yes, especially if it’s really a situation you’re uncomfortable with, what I’m driving at is don’t be afraid to say yes – it can lead to some really amazing things.