I don’t want to die with the “music still inside,” as Oliver Wendell Holmes articulated in a beautifully jarring way.

I’m not very adventurous. I’m more comfort-driven than I wish to admit. (Because to admit it would be … uncomfortable.) At a certain point I realized that if I didn’t push back against it, my comfort zone would naturally shrink to fill the space I was instinctively comfortable in. And it wasn’t a very big space.

Yet I want to live all the life I was made for.

I have a vision of myself as an old lady who is vibrant, curious, and engaged; not so set in her ways; and I was not on course to become her. So I began to lean into the process of pushing back against the edges of my comfort zone bit by bit in very everyday ways.

It’s a million tiny little things, adding up over time. It’s saying no to the “snooze” button in the morning and yes to the "Do Not Disturb” button during work hours. It’s doing some things that feel supremely boring and others that feel very scary. It’s an everyday process of self-leadership.

I’m in process, and here to share the process and be a voice of encouragement to others ready to keep growing forward, seeking “life to the fullest,” and calling out the music from within.