What if I try something on the menu that I usually don’t order and I don’t like it as much?

What if I say “yes” and I can’t meet the commitment or feel too overwhelmed or anxious about it? I can be socially awkward and it can be uncomfortable meeting new people and being in new situations. I’m such a homebody that sometimes I feel like the dad in one of the sitcoms that said, “Nothing good ever happens OUT THERE!”

What if I change jobs and I realize that I was really meant to teach, that nothing would ever be as rewarding? Epic failure! My mom always said, “The grass isn’t always greener.” She used this phrase so often that she recited it in a condensed version and didn’t even complete the statement with, “on the other side.”

What if I do what I’ve been talking about for so long and minimize my life in a really big way? What if I buy a much smaller home and move out of the home of my dreams? The place where my husband, my kids and I share so many memories. It really is the perfect house for us!

Does this sound familiar?

But, WHAT IF we try new things and they actually turn out better than we expected? What if we embrace change instead of fear it? What if we follow our dreams and if they didn’t work out we didn’t see it as a failure, but as a learning experience? What if we found the good in new experiences even if they didn’t turn out as planned?

I’m not saying that everything new you try will be a positive experience,  and I’m certainly not advising you to quit your job and sell your house.  But if you’ve been thinking about something for a long time, and given it careful consideration, you might want to give it a try.

Everyone has a unique set of circumstances and it may not be feasible to make some changes for very valid reasons, including financial and family responsibilities. It may take years of planning to make big changes that would impact your life in big ways.

Is there something you’ve been thinking about trying for a while and just haven’t made the leap? What’s the worst thing that could happen? If you would be able to manage the different outcomes, then perhaps it’s time to try something new. New experiences make new memories.

After nearly two years of thinking and talking about downsizing and moving along the minimalism continuum, my husband and I bought a house that’s one-fourth the size of our current home. We’ll sell the home that we’ve so lovingly remodeled to fit us like a glove and start over on a much smaller scale.  It’s both exciting and scary at the same time.

But I am ready.

We gave this decision careful consideration. It would actually be better for us financially, the same distance or closer to loved ones, closer to work for my husband, but a little further commute for me. I decided it was worth the extra 20 minute commute.

Even though our new environment will be completely different, we will still have what’s most important and what really makes a house a home. We’ll have each other and the people in our lives that we love.

I will also be taking a few of my most favorite outdoor plants to our new home and transplanting them there. One of them is a rosebush with yellow flowers that my husband so thoughtfully bought me in memory of my mom. I dug it up recently to get it ready to transport, took the tag off of it,  and noticed the actual name of the rose is, “Scent From Above.” Seriously?

When I took a closer look at it I noticed it wasn’t doing very well. It didn’t appear to have any new shoots on it like it normally does this time of year. I feared it was dead. Just as I thought it might not have survived the winter, I noticed a separate tiny plant next to the main rosebush that was sprouting up from the ground beside the old one!

I dug up the entire rosebush, carefully separated the new plant from the old plant and put it in its own pot, ready to be transported to its new home. I felt a little sad that the original plant didn’t survive, but I was relieved and very grateful that it had yielded new growth before it died.

Just like me, my rosebush has outgrown this place and is ready for a change of scenery. Just like me, it’s never been more alive and ready to begin anew, branching out from deep inside!

The new, not abandoning the old, but an extension of it.  A continuation of its journey after a long winter’s nap.

Is there something big you’ve been wanting to try for a very long time? What would it take to move closer to your goal? Or perhaps you just want to order something different on the menu. Go for it!