If ever there was a homebody, it’s me. Give me the choice, and eight times out of ten, I’ll stay home to work on writing-related stuff or to spend time with family instead of going out and breaking the ice with a new group of people or activity.

Recently, however, I said yes to a couple of opportunities, and I’m so glad I did.

If you’re like me, here are two reasons you should get out and build more relationships:

You need someone other than your mom (or husband or boyfriend or…) in your corner. Immediate family is great, but after a while, you need to know someone a little further removed from you can see your side of things.

Even if that person just listens without having any advice on a situation, you can feel so much lighter just knowing someone agrees that what you’re working on or going through is challenging. And as a bonus, very often, you’ll get a least a little fresh perspective and encouragement. This is important because, as Proverbs reminds us, we need numerous advisers to have victory.

I want to live a life of victory–how about you??

Your life needs to be about so much more than your life. When I’m tucked away at home, working on my various projects, I’ll admit it: life is mostly about me. When I let that happen, I start to get anxious and worried about all those projects of mine. Everything seems to hang on the success or failure of my efforts.

Whoa! Back up! Since when is life all about me?

Getting out and working toward a bigger goal does worlds of good. You can be the person who’s sympathizing with someone going through a tough time. Or you can be involved in making your community or church or environment a better place.

When you focus on others for a while, you prove to yourself that your own projects aren’t the most important things in life. That takes some of the pressure off. And the time away from your work can also clear your mind so you can come back refreshed.

This isn’t to say that you should book your calendar full of events or anything, but maybe there are a couple of special invites you’d be better off accepting.

Do you tend toward one extreme or the other when it comes to staying home or getting involved in outside groups and activities?