The BEST thing you can ever do for yourself, is start saying yes. 

Listen, I know it sounds so incredibly simple, too simple almost, but honestly, this is the best advice I could give anyone. Ever.  

Now, I’m not telling you to start saying yes to things you really really don’t want to do- that would be counterproductive to say the least. But I’m telling you to leave the ‘comfort zone’ behind, forget the comfort zone exists, by the end of this article you shouldn’t even know what the words ‘comfort zone’ mean when strung together. 

The comfort zone is easy, it’s safe and familiar and feels like a warm hug on a cold afternoon, or the cozy bed you crawl into after a hard day’s work. The comfort zone tells you it loves you, and like every toxic relationship in your life, the comfort zone can draw you in, and leave you thinking you can never escape. And I don’t exactly blame you. As an unsure, lost and unmotivated 13 year old, the comfort zone was my best friend. I fell into its traps day by day, and the monotony followed. Frankly, I grew bored with myself and with what I was doing with my time. 

Which is when everything changed forever. My friend asked me to join her writing class- and what’s important here, is that I said YES. 

I could easily have said no, and surrendered my Saturday afternoons to Twitter and….nothing else, I was pretty obsessed with Twitter, but I said yes. And my life changed drastically. All of a sudden, opportunities popped up. I met new people and suddenly I was being asked to organise, attend and help out at events, and with every new ‘yes’ that I would utter, another door would open into this whole new world I would never have known existed. The comfort zone had become a thing of the past as had my boredom and my free time. My CV grew longer and more impressive, and I soon realised I was accomplishing things I wouldn’t ever have thought possible when I first set out.  

None of this would ever have happened had I not had the confidence to say yes. Every single thing I have ever done after that, can be drawn back to that one decision I made. And I know so so many other people would be able to do the exact same.

You never know what could happen if you take that one leap of faith, if you leave the comfort zone behind. It’s terrifying, I know, but it could also be the best decision you ever make. 

And if you’re sitting there reading this and thinking sure that couldn’t be me, or that you have never even had the opportunity to say yes to anything, then you would be lying. Think of every time people are asked for volunteers, in local clubs, at school, in your community, at events… the list really does go on and on. And every single time one of those opportunities arises, you make a decision. The most important thing I could ever urge someone to do is to say yes when opportunities arise, you never know when a ‘yes’ could change your life forever.