I’ve been playing a game lately, as part of my research and as part of my goal of personal growth. I head over to Psychology Today or The Greater Good, and I see what first catches my eye. Then I follow the trail, and eventually the lesson of the day settles into my core. On Monday, it was a reminder to take charge of my life, hidden among a description of the fascinatingly accurate Serenity Prayer Couples blog post. Yesterday, the Universe encouraged setting goals and resetting my brain. Today, the theme is being bold, leaving my comfort zone, and taking a leap.

This blog post was particularly powerful:   Helping the Self-Loathing Break Out of Their "Comfort Zone"

Mark D. White (Ph.D) discusses how our low self esteem and doubts about ourselves become important to our identities, “the one thing about ourselves we are certain about.” He says that, even if we let ourselves believe we have the potential to succeed, we can also feel fear, “not just because you’re not sure you can handle what would come next, but also because it challenges your doubt about yourself.”

On this journey to confront inner demon after inner demon, I’ve learned these little beasts make themselves more intimidating than they are. I’ve made enough leaps in the past- starting a column, studying in Ireland, going through IVF- to know that the rewards are greater than the pain of rejection along the way. But time again, I panic at any precipice, heart in throat and fears in hand.