I'll be 30 this summer, moved to a big (albeit nearby) city for school right after high school, then moved to a small town across the country with a bf who unceremoniously dumped me several years later, took career risks that were so bad for me that I developed medical issues because of it, and made an odd financial investment at 22 that I no longer want anything to do with.

I regret some of these decisions and how I handled the fallout of things along the way, sure. But the hard truth is that even the things I would legitimately not do if I could go back and change things taught me something very valuable. I know more about what I want and what I need on the brink of 30 than some people do at 50, if ever. And I take the things I learn and I put those lessons to good use.

The trouble with your mindset is the assumption that things won't go to shit as long as you make the "right" decisions. That's not true. Life is full of curveballs, regardless of what you do with yourself. The best you can do is make each decision thoughtfully, and have a back up plan (along with a good savings account!) that you're ready to pull the trigger on if you need to. Even if you get what you think you want, you might find it that it doesn't make you happy, or just evolve into wanting something different at some point even without a negative experience.

The only way to circumvent that fear is to learn resilience. And the only way to learn resilience is practice. Start with small decisions and build up to bigger ones if you can.

If I never left home the way I did, I might still be in a place that makes me miserable in so many ways. I'm about to move to a new city for a new job, and while that's scary, it's good. The only regret I wouldn't be ok with is having not gone out and lived my life. I hear a lot of people where I'm from talk about the things they wish they could do but don't think they'll ever have or get to do, and the sad truth is that they is a self-fulfilling prophecy. Don't hold yourself back.