Looking back at the way my life has unfolded, I've been proud of the fact that I'm someone who consistently pushes beyond her comfort zone. I backpacked through foreign lands and languages for over four months. I moved to a new country, a new continent. I taught English in Hong Kong just after SARS, and have said yes to adventure and expansion again and again.

But I've also come to see where I wasn't stretching - where I was bypassing, avoiding, shrinking instead. The part of me that loves an adventure, a change of scenery or pace, has always been willing to take the risk. But there are other parts of me that are far less brave.

Today's reflection turns you toward the things you don't find hard - not because they're easy, but because you've simply chosen not to address them. These are the untrodden parts of you: the paths less walked, the corners with little light. They're the least familiar, and in many ways, the most consequential. They may not shout dramatically, but the whispers ...