“The purpose of life, after all, is to live it, to taste experience to the utmost, to reach out eagerly and without fear for newer and richer experience.”
Eleanor Roosevelt
When Was the Last Time You Felt Fully Alive?
I still remember a morning almost ten years ago as I stood at the edge of that mountain cliff—breathing fast, legs stiff. I had left camp early to catch the sunrise from the highest spot around and I had hiked a couple miles in the dark to be there. It was totally worth it, but I have to admit there was a moment when I woke up where I thought, What am I doing? A warm bed and relaxing with a hot cup of coffee would have been so much easier. But I took the first step. And then another. By the time I reached the summit, my heart wasn’t just racing from the climb—it was because, I felt truly alive. I have a picture that I took that morning still on my desk, and I’ve reflected on it often over the years.
Moments like that stick with you. But if I’m honest, they don’t come often enough. Routine wraps around me like a blanket—comfortable, but numbing. I tell myself it’s stability, but sometimes it’s just a more acceptable word for safe. I wrote about this same topic six years ago, and it still rings true.
When did safety become the goal?
What Staying Inside Your Comfort Zone Is Costing You
Ask any parent, kids love chicken nuggets and macaroni on repeat. Safe, predictable. Then one day, they taste something new like barbecue or sushi and their world shifts, they realize there is more than the processed food they are used to. =.
That’s what life is like. Stay inside your comfort zone, and you miss the flavors you didn’t even know existed.
I see this in leadership all the time. We rely on what’s worked before because it’s easy. But the best leaders—the ones I admire most—move forward when others hold back. They step outside their comfort zone, not because it’s fun, but because they know that’s where the growth is.
I’ve learned this the hard way. Every time I’ve stepped into the unfamiliar—whether it was leading a difficult turnaround, making a tough call, or saying “yes” to a challenge I wasn’t sure I was ready for—I changed. Not because it was easy, but because I faced the unknown and came through it.
Where in your life—professionally or personally—are you choosing comfort over growth?
The Real Risk Is Standing Still
Taking a risk might mean you fall. You could fail. It might hurt.
But here’s the truth I can’t escape:
Staying still carries a cost too.
The cost of regret. Of potential wasted. Of a life that looks fine on the outside but feels hollow inside.
I’ve stumbled more times than I can count. But I’ve never regretted stepping forward. Even when I didn’t get it right, I grew. The best stories—the ones that shape us—never start with, “I played it safe.”
What’s one place in your life where standing still feels safer—but your gut is telling you to move?
Leading and Living Fully Begins with “Yes”
This isn’t about saying “yes” to everything. It’s about saying “yes” when it matters—to the things that stretch you, scare you a little, but carry the weight of possibility.
The best leaders know this.
The best lives reflect it.
Stepping outside your comfort zone is more than an adventure—it’s an act of self-leadership. Every “yes” is a choice to grow. To lead yourself before you lead others. To become more.
That’s where life begins.
The Book That Made Me Rethink Comfort
A few years ago, I read The Comfort Crisis by Michael Easter. It challenged me. It forced me to confront the ways comfort had dulled my edge—not just as a leader, but as a person.
If you’ve ever wondered whether the life you’re building is too safe, this book will push you to ask the hard questions. Growth only happens in the discomfort, yet our world is about finding comfort, so to grow we have to intentionally seek out those things that make us uncomfortable. It’s worth your time.
Embrace Discomfort, Embrace The Richness of Life
If this post struck a nerve, I get it. I’m still figuring this out too.
Everything in our world is set up to make us more comfortable, but to grow we have to embrace discomfort. That’s the only way to experience the richness of our precious and finite time here. Take the plunge, do something daring today. You won’t regret taking that first step.
