Complacency breeds danger.

Our modern world is one of the most dangerous environments, not because it’s dangerous, but rather, because it’s too comfortable. This softens you, loses your edge, and makes you depressed.

Deep down you know it is a sense of mild danger that brings a glint to your eye and it’s something you’ve been missing. Life’s too short to play it safe.

Here are 9 tiny habits of people with the sparkliest personalities:

1. They travel to a foreign city alone and spend a couple of days trying out the local foods and cafe hopping like a local.

If you’re like me, you can just continue your remote work from there. So it’s not a ‘vacation’ but rather a work trip. I take these all the time.

Beyond seeing somewhere new and alien, many people are straight-up scared of going anywhere alone. If you can master the skill of being ok walking into a restaurant and ordering by yourself, you can do many things.

2. They start a side hustle.

I don’t often advocate allowing yourself to be distracted from your main project. It’s too easy to find excuses to continually chase shiny objects and rarely get anything done.

But if you’re on top of your main focus, it may serve to explore something different, whether it’s a new writing project, selling t-shirts online, starting a podcast, or sharing your thoughts on video, just because.

There are few cases where a side-project won’t benefit the other things you’re doing through a kind of osmosis and vice versa.

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3. They book ‘far-out’ classes and join new people.

A few weeks ago I booked myself into a mountaineering course in Poland. I joined a group for five days to learn how to climb mountains and ice waterfalls.

It was hard, and I felt stupid through most of it, but that’s now down as a significant, and highly-rewarding life memory that I’ll never regret.

4. They identify that 'thing' they continually berate themselves for not doing.

Something that brings you fear that you’ve been avoiding. We all have that thing or two. We avoid it because we’ve built it up in our heads like a frightening, distant, and dark mountain.

You will make a move today in the direction of this tall peak. You will find what is a small step, and you will move in the direction of your fears.

5. They incorporate more social interaction into their work.

It’s easy to fall into the trap — in these online days — of staying isolated and hidden. I could spend all my time writing, but I find I need a sense of more face-to-face leadership in my work. So I occasionally run workshops and approach people I think are out of my league for coaching.

The Internet affords all kinds of curious ways to interact and lead people. If this makes you nervous, try it. It will be great for confidence, and good for business.

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6. They choose an outdoor pursuit they rarely do and go do it one weekend.

Not much of a camper? Mark a fat C on your calendar, rent a tent, and book the train to your nearest wilderness area. Make it real in advance.

Get out there and breathe in the untouched air. Sift through the earth with your soft, keyboard fingers.

Do something that connects you with your tribal, ancestral path, with or without friends.

7. They left themselves out of the mundanity of work with a ‘crazy’ challenge.

In the general day-to-day, we can end up doing ‘just enough,’ so that life feels like we’re running on a hamster wheel. Snap yourself out of it and reflect on the idea of bringing some danger into your business life. By this, I mean doing what few are doing.

What could you do that would elevate your successes above the seething masses?

What challenge could you set for yourself over the next 90 days that were you to share it, you may get laughed at? What’s an idea that sounds a little ridiculous, makes you nervous, but may just work if you could pull it off?

Locate your courage, and go there.

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8. They go on road trips.

I’m a fan of travel that doesn’t necessarily have an end in sight. Rather, the trip is the traveling part.

Something is soul-stirring about getting yourself in motion over large expanses and seeing the land change and the weather roll through in various forms.

You don’t need to drive. I went on a three-hour train last week to Western Poland and I was struck by how creative looking out over wheat fields made me. Adventure isn’t that dangerous, but it should feel like it’s out of your comfort zone.

9. They pursue their most ridiculous dreams.

Most of us have that thing we once daydreamed about, whether writing a novel, kissing a cheerleader, or acting on a stage. As we got older and got knocked by losses, we lost touch with those hair-raising fantasies.

You are unlikely to get another chance in the afterlife, so make a step today. Those things you think are important today will be regrets on your deathbed.

Why?

Because you denied yourself that one thing that once made your heart jump and your eyes sparkle.

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Alex Mathers is a writer and coach who helps you build a money-making personal brand with your knowledge and skills while staying mentally resilient. 

This article was originally published at Medium. Reprinted with permission from the author.