I was seven months into my 12-month internship, and the looming question of “What’s next?” started to weigh on me. Like anyone nearing the end of university, I felt the pressure of choosing a “real job.” It seemed like this one decision would shape my entire future. (Spoiler alert: it doesn’t have to. You can change careers anytime!)

And every day, I told myself I’d figure it out. There was a graduate scheme I could apply for, but one word stopped me in my tracks: sales. Just hearing it made me cringe. Sales? That was never going to be me. I’d seen the confident, outgoing people who thrived in that role, and I thought, “I’m nothing like them.”

But one day, a senior colleague said something that stuck with me: “You should go for it. You’re great at talking to people.” I laughed it off at first. Surely, being able to talk wasn’t enough to succeed in sales. Still, the idea lingered in the back of my mind, even as I convinced myself I’d stick to my original plan of finding a marketing job.

And then, there was this tiny voice inside me – a whisper, really – that said, “What if?” What if this was my chance to grow into the confident person I admired? Of course, my inner critic was quick to shut it down: “Yeah, right. Not you.”

A few months later, I returned to university and decided to give the interview process a shot. When I got the call saying I’d got the job, I felt a knot in my stomach. At the time, I thought it was nerves telling me to run. Now, I know it was excitement – a sign I was stepping into something new and challenging.

Because of that, I moved to Glasgow that September and started my first sales job. It was tough. I had to cold call, build relationships over the phone, and learn about servers and networking (I still don’t fully understand any of it..!). There were moments of doubt, meltdowns, and plenty of cringe-worthy training sessions where I had to listen back to my calls with my manager. But every uncomfortable moment taught me something valuable.

Because of that, I began to see the power of stepping outside my comfort zone. I realized that growth doesn’t come from staying safe—it comes from taking risks, even when they scare you. I went into the graduate scheme with an open mind, determined to learn whatever I could, good or bad.

Until finally, I understood the most important lesson of all: that little voice inside you, the one urging you to take a leap, is worth listening to. If there’s even a tiny part of you wondering, “What if?”—go for it. Ask yourself, “What’s the worst that could happen?” Picture it. Is it really that bad? Then ask yourself, “What’s the best that could happen?” Chances are, the best-case scenario is worth the risk.

And here’s the thing: the probability of something amazing happening is often higher than you think. So take the leap. You might just surprise yourself.