Face your fears and take a chance. You'll find the result is often better than you bargained for.

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Make a Move

We all know that moment: You're just about to make the phone call, send the e-mail, introduce yourself to the person across the room. You wince and hesitate -- maybe this isn't such a good idea, maybe you could put it off until tomorrow. But finally, you take a deep breath and say, "Hi, I'm Sara..."

Stress-inducing? Yes. Worth it? Absolutely. After all, those little leaps of faith can lead to new friendships, new jobs, new romances. "Of course, the very word 'risk' means there's no guarantee of a payoff," says Judith Sills, PhD, a psychologist and author of The Comfort Trap (Viking, 2004). "But no risks definitely don't pay."

And the great thing about taking small leaps, like striking up a conversation with the person sitting next to you on the plane, is that you get a lot of bang for your buck. "Small risks cost very little, but have a potentially big payoff. You might have a moment of discomfort, but the reward could be a new friendship," says Sills. Here are some little hops into the unknown that could yield big results.