During a conversation with my uncle Mike yesterday, he told me about a lesson he used to teach his students.
The lesson was apart of the mental health portion of a class he taught for many years at San Pedro High School. The message was that the way to increase your self-confidence is to put yourself in situations that are out of your comfort zone.
Because once you take that step to raise your hand; to say I want in. I want to be on the student council. I want to take on that risky assignment. I want to commit to that new habbit…
Once you take that step, you might be uncomfortable, but you become the type of person who has done that before, and maybe, your self-confidence rises because of it.
You may begin to feel when you walk through the world that you’re a little more competent, a little more confident in your abilities.
And sure, you don’t feel Julia Roberts-confident overnight. But you might feel a twinge of well deserved respect for yourself.
It’s that twinge of respect for yourself that I think is so powerful. That feeling of overcoming fear you’ve held for so long. Releasing the tension you’ve always felt from knowing in your head you could do something (and really wanting it), but letting the fear hold you back.
If this is you (and it’s all of us), go there. Magic happens there.
Like Uncle, Like Nephew
Months before this conversation I’d written a note to myself: “Expanding my comfort zone is my life’s work.”
I wrote it down on my ever-growing list of the most important lessons I’ve learned in my twenties (the ones I’m documenting on this blog).
I’m not sure when I realized the importance of regularly getting outside my comfort zone (actually seeking it out), but it so firmly deserves to be on this list.
Thanks Uncle Mike for reminding that this is a lesson worth teaching and reminding ourselves of.