There are times in life where you cannot take the next step without leaving the past behind completely. For example, Imagine you are offered a new job, which is a major step up in your career, but will require you to move to a new city. You can’t keep your current job and take the new one at the same time. You need to choose.

Staying where you are would be comfortable, because it’s the world of the known. You know the ins and outs of your job, you have your circle of friends, you have worked out your work and life routines, and everything is working well. 

The new job is full of unknowns. Will you like your new job and your new boss? Will you be able to make friends in a new and unfamiliar city? The only way to answer these questions is to take a leap of faith.

People naturally tend to prefer the safer option. It’s called loss avoidance, and cognitively speaking, it has a stronger pull than reward. But avoiding losses will only maintain the status quo. To make significant progress, you will often need to take a leap of faith. You can’t embark on an adventure without leaving the safety and comfort of home behind.

Here is a rule of thumb that will help you keep your loss avoidance tendency in check: When you are torn between two alternatives and finding it hard to make a decision, the very difficulty of the choice is a clue. Your doubt about taking the plunge is due to that strong natural pull toward your comfort zone.

When in doubt, go towards the fear.