Game-Changing Opportunity

It used to be commonplace for me to get a call on my phone or a message on Facebook from a group of my friends to come over for a game night. We would play a bunch of board games, with some video games thrown in for fun. One of our favorite board games to play was Upwords, a game very similar to Scrabble. One day I laid down a 7 letter word and shouted “Gamechanger!” Ever since, that has been a common word/inside joke that we all say for small moments in our lives that bring change. Gamechangers come in all shapes and sizes, but today I wanted to focus on the major changes in your life that, once they occur, you immediately feel it inside and the choice is yours to make; Will you make a significant change/take a risk in your life and step out of your comfort zone of routine for a chance for yourself to grow?
We have all been in that position before: We get invited to a party with hardly anyone you know; We have the opportunity to change careers to better accommodate our passions; etc.  Some of these situations are more dire and require a faster response, but all are important to the betterment of yourself. Usually, the strongest signal of a major decision is that “gut feeling” you get in the pit of your stomach. Now, this is highly dependent on the situation, but in most cases, go with it! This is a common theme in my posts, but stepping outside your comfort zone is absolutely essential for personal growth.

I have had a handful of opportunities like that in my past where I just instantly became uncomfortable and back then, my automatic response was to hop back in my bubble and turn down everything that came my way. I would find excuses almost as easily as I could tell truths because it was so common in my life. To me, I didn’t have the mentality I do now and I certainly was not thinking on a large-scale, self-growth perspective. It wasn’t until I turned about 19 that I decided to start saying yes and expanding my horizons beyond the small circle of people/places that were familiar to me. This was a fantastic time in my life and I experienced a lot of new things and opened my mind by starting to say yes and agreeing to opportunity.

It wasn’t long after this time in my life that I stumbled upon my favorite non-relationship quote of all time by Mark Twain, “Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness; and many people need it solely on these accounts. Broad, Wholesome, Charitable views of men and things cannot be acquired by vegetating in one little corner of the earth all one’s lifetime” It was no coincidence that this mentality crept into my life at this turning point. The way I interpreted it, the quote works well beyond traveling the world. The people we meet, places we go, things we see, life we experience… all these things can apply to this state of mind.
Do yourself a favor: Next time you have one of those moments, remind yourself that what you are feeling is a natural resistance to change, but change is exactly what you need to experience your dreams and for your life to fall into place exactly how you want it to. Positive thinking and a confident attitude will help you say yes and to open new doors so you will eventually expand your mind to the point where change is accepted, and let me tell you, it’s a beautiful thing.