I’ve learnt more about myself by trying new things than I ever did by staying comfortable.

Over the last couple of years, I’ve done quite a few things I could easily have talked myself out of.

I started my own business at 60. I began putting myself on camera. I went LIVE even though it took me forever to press the button the first time. I started sharing more of my story publicly. And lately, I’ve been learning new platforms, new ways of creating content and generally doing quite a lot of things that make me think, “What on earth am I doing?”

The strange thing is, none of it happened because I suddenly became fearless.

It happened because I finally realised something much more important.

If I kept choosing what felt safe, my life was going to keep looking exactly the same.

So here are five things I’ve learnt about change.

1. You probably won’t feel ready first. I used to think confidence came before action. Now I think it’s often the other way round. You do the thing with shaky hands, a racing mind and absolutely no guarantee you’ll get it right. Then afterwards, you realise you survived it. That becomes evidence for the next time.

2. Your mind will give you very convincing reasons not to do it. Too old. Too late. Too risky. What will people think? What if I fail? What if I look stupid? Mine has used most of those over the years. The important bit is recognising that a thought can feel completely true without actually being a fact.

3. Staying the same is still a decision. We tend to think the risky choice is changing something. Sometimes it is. But doing nothing has consequences too. Another year can pass remarkably quickly while you’re waiting for the perfect moment.

4. You don’t need to change your whole life in one go. Some of the biggest changes in mine started with something tiny. Pressing LIVE. Saying yes to an opportunity. Speaking up when I’d normally stay quiet. Trying something even though I wasn’t sure I’d be any good at it. One small decision can prove something to you that years of thinking about it never will.

5. At some point, you have to decide who gets the final say. The version of you who is frightened because of everything they’ve learnt and experienced before? Or the version of you who is curious about what might happen if you finally give yourself a chance?

That’s the bit I keep coming back to.

Because if there’s something in your life you’ve been saying you want to change, but you’re still waiting to feel brave enough, confident enough or certain enough, you might be waiting for something that only arrives afterwards.

Maybe the question isn’t, “Am I ready?”

Maybe it’s, “How much longer am I prepared to let fear make this decision for me?”

Because life can absolutely change.

But eventually, someone has to press the button.

Shirley x