When you’re old, most of the stories you’ll love telling will be about times you said yes while scared.

Fear is a poor guide to what will matter later, because the moments that make the best stories are the ones that were uncomfortable while they happened. Nothing memorable ever came out of the evening you stayed home because the plan felt awkward. The nerves and the story share an address.

When something scares you slightly this week and is not actually dangerous, say yes before you have had time to talk yourself out of it. The audition, the trip, the conversation. Scared and going anyway is the entire recipe, and you keep the story either way.