This is part I of a three part series where I wrap up 2025, which has been a doozy of a year. Seeing as how we have less than two weeks left, expect the next two posts to come in the next week or so. Happy New Year!

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For the past two weeks, I’ve been driving on the freeway to my new job at the University of Central Florida. I’m thrilled to be there, but not so thrilled about the commute.

It’s the same decades old complaint — nobody likes long commutes, and yet we do it anyway. For me, personally, I do not like long commutes on the freeway. Sure, I can take the back roads, and it is very pleasant indeed, but when you already don’t like driving and you need to get home before it gets dark so you can check on your kids, it’s much more conducive to take the shorter option, which is the freeway.

I can’t tell you how many times I felt true, visceral fear as I drove on the freeway to the point where it manifested physically through body shakes and rising blood pressure. My heart beats louder than a drum and my right leg (which I need to press on the gas) suddenly shakes uncontrollably so I can’t press on the gas harder even if I wanted to. It wouldn’t be so bad if Florida drivers aren’t so atrocious, but they are. I’ve written about it here, and I haven’t changed my perception since.

Here’s another age-old sentiment: if you can’t beat them, join them.

I suppose I have no choice. If I want to keep my job (which I do) I have to learn how to be more aggressive on the road. It’s not in my nature to be a jerk. I’m a passive driver; I let people in, and I’m used to being courteous. Drivers in Oregon, and in particular the Pacific Northwest, are overly courteous. We generally do not weave in and out of lanes with only inches to spare and we do not zoom up behind someone’s blind spot at 25 miles per hour faster than the other vehicle. It’s just not a thing. But here in the south, it is.

This experience is perhaps the biggest challenge I’ve had in years. I found myself at a juncture where I can choose to face the challenge head on (in this case, take the freeway) or stay within my comfort zone (not take the freeway) and in a way, I kind of chose the former.

Is it easier now that I’ve done it for two weeks? Nope. But it has indeed taught me that I can do it, so long as I’m focused. I’m being challenged in more ways than one, and it has opened up and reminded me of the fact that I like being challenged. That’s how you grow as an individual — by doing things you wouldn’t normally choose to do and living to tell the tale.

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James Clear, the author of Atomic Habits, wrote in a recent newsletter about embracing daily discomforts. “Growth demands discomfort,” he wrote. “We need something to push against to learn how strong we can become.” This is because modern life is catered toward comfort. We get things quickly delivered to our door so we don’t have to move an inch. We get recommendations on what to watch, read and listen to so we don’t have to seek it out ourselves. And we get told how to think and what to buy every time we open up social media apps. It can be maddening. But only when we choose to embrace the unfamiliar can we discover new things about ourselves and our environments.

If you were to ask me to describe myself last year or even earlier this year I’d say I was a person who never took the freeway because I was scared. Now, I’m a person who takes the freeway even though I’m still scared. The latter version is learning to be more bold, and it’s going to take time but I think I kind of like that version better.

I’m a fan of saying yes — I do not believe in the current sentiment, or what has been for the past decade or so, about “the art of saying no.”While I get the sentiment about being selective in what you choose to participate in, sometimes you don’t have much of a choice. Sometimes you just can’t say no.

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P.S. I know I wrote about the fact that I’m tired of using call-to-action buttons but here I am using them. Well, let’s just say — do as I do, not as I say. ;-)