This week I received an invitation to go somewhere I’d never been with someone I’ve rarely met. My initial reaction was no way. I was busy, comfortable, and safe. But as the wind howled outside and the days were very dark, I finally screwed up my courage and said yes. Impulsively, I bought my plane ticket, and the feeling of doing so was very much like taking a deep breath and plunging into icy water. It wasn’t the idea of travel that was scary, but leaping out of my routine. Members of the touristocracy travel the globe constantly, but their trips don’t necessarily change how they feel about things. They’re so used the way of tickets and airplanes, hotels and fellow-tourists, that they remain comfortable and complacent on their expeditions. So it’s not about traveling—an adventure doesn’t have to be a long voyage to the Galapagos Islands—it can be volunteering at a local shelter or meeting someone new. It can be anything or anyone that inspires growth, discernment, compassion, or a change of heart. It’s easy to be seduced by the comfort of routine and the what-we-know. But when we get too complacently stuck in that, we’ll be less likely to manage the shoals, rapids, and uncertainties that do inevitably come our way. We’ll be shocked in ways that are much more difficult to overcome than if we maintain suppleness and flexibility in our inner lives. So try something new—go somewhere fresh—read a book you wouldn’t ordinarily—call someone you’d rather not. Push your boundaries. Go beyond the limits you’ve coated yourself with this winter. Be curious. Be brave.