Every moment of growth is done to make you feel squeamish, unsettled, and nervous.

You cannot grow without it.

I have been approached by so many people who seem to want to do something different, but never do anything more than share a thought or two.  That is as far as it goes.  It is just talk, right?  No one was really expecting me to commit to the change I said I wanted, were they?

Exactly one year ago, I took a leap of faith.  I wish I could have seen what a year would bring me before taking that leap, but it would not have been the same.  Almost on a whim, I left my full-time job to so what I felt like I needed to do, not even really sure what that meant or how to get there. With no real direction, but a tremendous sense of knowing it was right, I gave in to the life I was meant to live and the message I was meant to deliver.  If someone would have told me that I would be here, I never would have believed them.  In some ways, I have always been here.  I just ignored the messages or pretended that they were meant for someone else.  I didn’t believe that I was worthy of such a responsibility.

And yet, I still have no explanation for it all.  Every day, I am greeted with surprises from someone I spoke to over a year ago who shared how she found happiness in living once I had given her permission to do so.  My simple words can touch and open hearts to see things that otherwise might be overlooked or forgotten.  A Facebook message shared with me reiterates the focus on the things that matter instead of what doesn’t.

Change is something that can influence our every mood, our every thought, and our every action if we let it. And many times, it helps us in ways we never even imagined.

So what makes your skin crawl?  What keeps you up at night?  Where do your dreams take you? How do you see yourself tomorrow?

No matter where we go, we must grow.  We must understand the newness surrounding every corner is there to nudge is into a direction we might otherwise not take….where saying “hello” to someone could change everything else that happens next…when believing in something different could alter every thought thereafter…when change changes us.

There is always ONE thing that we want to be different.  Maybe we want more, but we always have at least one. What is that ONE thing for you?  And once you find what it is, are you willing to be put yourself out there to get it?  To admit that you are learning and unsure?  To stand your ground when others would soon walk away?  To be more curious than most?  To not care about what happens next, but to live just in that moment?

Would you quit your “day job” to do something that makes no sense? Would you tender your heart to live a life that was genuine, free, and happy despite the lack of guarantee that accompanied it?  Would you give up predictability and reason to embrace a journey that never frees itself from you?  Would you do more than speak of a dream — would you commit to it and merge it into your life so that it becomes a part of you?  Would you be patient, allowing things to happen as they should?  Would you hide from your dream, in hopes of avoiding ridicule and humiliation should it fail?

Most people never do any of the above.  They stay committed to what they know, never venturing far from their known stomping grounds.  They can get through any day with blinders on because nothing new ever happens.  But it is not their fault.  They cannot crave that for which they have never tasted. They have forbidden themselves from wandering far from home and never allow themselves to be curious.

[bctt tweet=”Some people never ask themselves the difficult questions…not because they don’t have them…because they don’t want to know the answers. “]

So, again I ask you…what are you willing to do to be uncomfortable?  Are you willing to push past doubt and fear on the way to confirmation and excitement?  Are you willing to certain failure with the hope of success?  Are you willing to listen to your heart and let reason and logic fall by the wayside?  Are you willing to allow yourself mistakes, knowing each one makes you stronger?  Are you willing to venture where no one else has and make a new path?  Are you willing to be nervous, scared, and unsure — knowing that you cannot return to who you once were?

If you are at that point in your life when staying where you are is not an option, then change is your best friend.  It will greet you with open arms, expose you to things you never thought of, and change everything from this point forward.  All it took was you taking one step. It is a big one, but so worth it.  And a year later, I cannot imagine being anywhere else but here.

Michelle A. Homme 2015 ©