If there’s one thing this past week taught me, it’s this: the edge of your comfort zone is where your confidence begins.
But let’s be real—it’s not always a graceful edge. Sometimes it looks like walking half-naked through a crowd with your insecurities screaming louder than your inner cheerleader. Other times it’s your lips on fire because a friend suggested a hot pepper challenge with a Carolian Reaper.
But somewhere between the awkward, the spicy, the joyful, and the downright vulnerable, something incredible happens: you find yourself again.
This past week wasn’t just about stunts, silliness, or stretching boundaries for the sake of it. It was about reclaiming power from the parts of life that slowly chip away at it—burnout, people-pleasing, self-doubt, and emotional exhaustion. You don’t rebuild from the inside out by waiting for the perfect moment. You do it by saying YES to imperfect, uncomfortable, beautifully human experiences that remind you of who you really are.
Here’s what I learned:
When you put yourself in a situation that feels wildly uncomfortable—like wearing something vulnerable in public—you quickly realize the fear isn’t in the thing itself. It’s in the stories you’ve been telling yourself: “I’m not enough. I don’t belong. What will they think?” But the moment you do it anyway, you shut that story down. You send a message to yourself that you are brave, capable, and completely worthy of being seen.
When you open your arms to strangers—literally, in the form of free hugs—you realize how hungry people are for connection. We live in a world that’s touch-starved and soul-starved. A simple, human moment like a hug becomes a reminder that we’re not as disconnected as we think. You don’t have to have the perfect words or the right timing. Just being willing to reach out can create magic.
When you say yes to pure fun—like trying nitrogen ice cream or chasing joy just because—you remember that joy isn’t a luxury. It’s a necessity. It breaks the rhythm of stress and reminds your brain (and your heart) that life is still worth laughing about. Fun doesn’t mean irresponsible. It means alive.
When you face something challenging, like eating a Carolina Reaper and thinking you might never taste food again, you come out the other side a little shakier… but also stronger. You pushed your limits. You proved to yourself that you could survive something intense—and that grit transfers into every other area of life. That’s the kind of fire (literally and figuratively) that builds resilience.
And when you stand in front of a mirror, look yourself in the eyes, and say words like “I am valuable. I matter. I am worthy. I am loved”—you realize the most important voice you’ll ever hear is your own. You can do all the outward things, but if the inner dialogue stays toxic, none of it sticks. Affirmations aren’t fluff. They’re foundation.
All of this—the discomfort, the connection, the joy, the challenge, and the self-love—is the Say Yes Experience. It’s not about chasing the extreme. It’s about choosing intention over autopilot. It’s about disrupting the pattern that burnout thrives on and replacing it with moments that build you back up—moment by bold moment.
So here’s the truth:
You don’t need to feel ready.
You don’t need to have it all together.
You just need to say YES.
Yes to being uncomfortable.
Yes to being seen.
Yes to fun.
Yes to hard things.
Yes to loving yourself out loud.
Because when you do, you stop waiting for life to change—and you start changing your life.
And THAT is where the magic begins.
Follow our 100 Days of Say Yes Experiences, click here to not miss a day.
ABOUT JESSICA:
Jessica Rector is on a mission to help others truly live.
CEO of The Say Yes Experience and Founder of Burnoutable, the first comprehensive SaaS platform to prevent and end burnout, Jessica empowers you to get out of your comfort zone and into possibilities, so you can break through burnout and tackle your negative thoughts to turn them into positive action and bigger outcomes!
Through our research, we consult with companies and train teams to create a culture that no one wants to leave by enhancing mental wellness and preventing burnout. They have worked with clients such as Scotiabank, NBCUniversal, the Dallas Mavericks, and Fortune’s #2 “Best Company to work for.”
As a #1 best-selling author of 12 books, Jessica has been interviewed on NBC for her research and work on burnout. As an HR.com Future of Employee Well-Being Advisory Board Member, Jessica helps to change the conversation around burnout and mental health with senior leaders and executives.
When she is not traveling around the world for work, Jessica enjoys creating more Say Yes experiences, while learning about the exciting world of Transformers, so she can carry on real conversations with her CFO, Chief Fun Officer, her twelve-year-old son, Blaise, who is also a #1 best-seller author and the youngest published author in the United States.
Get Jessica’s recent books, The Say Yes Experience: 52 tips to Prevent Burnout and Enhance Your Mental Health and Blaze Your Brain to Extinguish Burnout: 52 Tip to Prevent, Break Through and Eliminate Burnout at jessicarector.com. Connect with her on LinkedIn by CLICKING HERE.
