A fresh new year has just started – ‘fresh’ not just because of the snow and low temperatures, but because it traditionally brings an opportunity to set intentions and goals for the year ahead. Besides that, I also enjoy reflecting on the ones I had set for the previous year. Did I manage to reach my goals?

Last year, my intention was to be more daring – in all aspects of my life, but mostly professionally. Dare to follow my ideas and implement them in my two jobs, even though I’m not following a linear academic path. Dare to choose the tasks I want to do, based on what fulfills me most. Dare to express my opinion in my written pieces – whether here or on LinkedIn – and take the risk of upsetting someone who disagrees with me.

Daring can feel scary. It means taking risks: losing a job or an opportunity, affecting people’s trust, or disrupting our lives. But taking risks also means creating new opportunities and opening doors that lead to professional and personal growth.

The steps I took last year to dare more brought me a lot of satisfaction and consolidated my confidence. I discovered that daring creates a virtuous circle: the more you dare, the more you see positive effects, and the more you want to dare. It’s like a positive feedback loop that builds momentum over time. The column you’re reading right now? It exists because I dared to walk up to the KNCV Director and the C2W Editor-in-chief and say, ‘I want to write columns for you.’

That’s why I always encourage early-career researchers to dare more and take the risk to follow their hearts and ideas. To be clear: I’m talking about thoughtful risks, not impulsive decisions. Daring means paying attention to what excites you, then finding smart ways to pursue it. You’re probably already sitting on ideas and possibilities that are waiting for you to act on them.

Do you have ideas for research experiments that don’t fit the initial plan or what your supervisor expects from you? Many big discoveries have happened because of serendipity – think of the discovery of penicillin by Fleming, LSD by Albert Hofmann, or X-rays by Röntgen. Go for it! The worst that can happen is that you obtain negative results, which are still valuable data.

Do you want to say ‘no’ more frequently and stick to your own boundaries, but are you afraid of disappointing people? Treat this as an experiment: say ‘no’ more often and see what happens. I promise the outcome will be very different from the catastrophe you’ve pictured in your head.

Do you want to explore a new professional skill, but is there no time for it ‘officially’? Dedicate one to two hours per week to developing this skill and evaluate how you feel after a few weeks. Chances are high that you’ll feel energized and want to continue.

Venturing into the unexpected may feel scary and bring risks – but it also means getting out of our comfort zone and supporting our growth. Whether you decide to dare more this year or not, remember that your life is your life, and you are the one holding its reins. The perfect moment to bring your brilliant ideas to life doesn’t exist. What does exist is now – and the choice to treat your career like the scientific experiment it actually is. Try something, analyze the outcome, adjust your strategy, repeat.

So what will you dare to do this year?