Take a risk

how to get out of your comfort zone.

Whatever you can do, or dream you can, begin it. Boldness has genius, magic and power in it. Begin it now. - Goethe

To build confidence you will occasionally have to push yourself to do things you don't feel like doing and put yourself on the line. Welcome every opportunity. Avoiding fresh challenges, difficult people and awkward situations is never gratifying in the long term and just keeps you stuck as you are now.

Of course taking risks invites failure, but that's OK. You can't expect to sail through life without coming a cropper sometimes, it's a natural part of human experience. Babies learning to walk topple over many times. As adults we too will fall, recover our balance and get back on our feet again. Nobody gets everything right all the time.

Go on – take a risk (you know you want to)! If it feels uncomfortable it's only because you're not used to it. Change always feels uncomfortable at first, because your past conditioning tries to hold on to your old ways. Confident people don't always succeed, but they do always enjoy trying and they don't feel any less a person if they fail.

Be willing to confront your fears. Feel the fear, but don't be affected by it. You don't have to do everything perfectly. Just being yourself and having a go is enough.

The greatest success is not in never failing, but in rising every time you fall. - Vince Lombardi