01/27/2026
There’s something quietly unsettling about standing in front of a departure board at an airport as you head out on a journey. Suitcase at your feet, ticket in hand, and your destination blinking back at you.
Even when the trip is something you desire, people you trust say, “It’s so worth it,” and you’ve planned as best you can.
Leaving something familiar - even something that’s no longer serving you - can feel unnerving. Because comfort, even when it’s limiting, still feels safe.
When we travel somewhere new, our minds start spinning…
Will I fit in?
Will I be able to communicate?
Will I like the pace, the culture, the food, the unknown?
…those same kind of questions show up when the journey isn’t about geography, but about life.
Whether it is a new role, a new boundary, a new chapter in life, or a new version of you, you've likely heard it a hundred times: “This next step is good, totally worth it, and growth lives on the other side.”
The uncertainty can feel paralyzing, but here's what I've learned - all too often the hard way: You don’t need certainty to move forward. You need permission.
Permission to leave behind what’s familiar. Permission to outgrow what once fit. Permission to trust that you’ll figure things out as you go, because you always have.
Every meaningful journey asks us to let go of something. Old patterns. Old stories. Old versions of ourselves that once kept us safe but small.
While we can’t always calm our nerves completely, we can remind ourselves that we are not behind, we are not doing it wrong. We are simply standing at the gate of something new.
So here’s a gentle reflection for you this week:
👉 What’s one thing you might be ready to leave behind, even if it still feels a little uncomfortable to do so?
You don’t need the whole map before you go.
…those same kinds of questions show up when the journey isn’t about geography, but about life.