So, here we are. 2013. My calendar tells me that the new year began just a few short days ago.

But for me, my new year began way back on Nov. 1.

That’s the day that I started as communications director at Ten Fast Feet, and my whirlwind adjustment into a new job and lifestyle began.

And I was terrified.

After working from home for nearly a year and then being independent for another six months, I would have to resume a more traditional working life and head into an office every day.

And not just an office, but an office downtown. Gulp. Somehow, I’d managed to escape the commuter label for the course of my entire career, having worked in suburban offices in Pittsburgh and another suburban office in Nashville. Where would I park? How much would it cost? I was making myself worry about all of the minor details.

Probably the scariest thing of all was that I’d lose the flexibility of being on my own and being able to set my own schedule.

Was I ready to make the change?

It’s a question that I think we all ask ourselves far too frequently, both personally and professionally. Change can be hard. Change can be upsetting. But change can also be good and refreshing. Not that knowing that makes it any easier. Heck, I took a class during grad school on managing change and I still was over-analyzing the whole thing.

But now, as I’m into my third month with the Ten Fast Feet team, I’m really starting to settle in and find my groove. It was a change definitely worth making. My new colleagues are both fantastic people and extremely smart and talented. It makes surviving the downtown commute (which really isn’t all that bad) totally worth it every day.

The change has opened up a world of new opportunities. I’m writing more frequently. I’m guest posting on other sites. (In fact, I’ve already had the privilege of sharing the story of how I landed this job over on Dave Delaney’s New Networking site.) I’m meeting new people and learning to love working in the heart of it all.

Yes, the change was hard. It required compromising on some aspects of my life. But it was totally worth it.

And it’s inspired me to make even more changes to other aspects of my life too in this official new year. I’m trying to carve out more time for myself. Spend more time with friends that I didn’t see nearly enough last year. Create a new personal schedule to take advantage of my new work lifestyle.

None of that has been easy, either. In fact, I’ve failed several times only a couple of days into the new year.

Change isn’t easy. But I’m going to keep trying.