Get Your Confidence Rolling

Larina Kase, PsyD, MBA; www.larinakase.com

“When we leave our comfort zones, shadows become monsters,” observes Dr. Larina Kase. Dr. Kase is a behavioral psychologist, confidence coach, and author of Clients, Clients and More Clients. She adds:

Because we’re anxious, everything looks threatening, scary, and overwhelming. When confronted with a situation that we fear we can’t handle well, many people decide to avoid the opportunity completely. They choose to settle for the status quo rather than pursuing a change, because they fear failure and humiliation.

Others go after the opportunity before they are ready. They plunge right in (smartly knowing that if they don’t take action, they never will). The problem is that they haven’t adequately prepared. They haven’t lined up the resources and support that they need. They haven’t created a plan.

Still others retreat at the first sign of failure. Unfortunately many people escape from uncomfortable situations too early—before they have a chance to get used to the anxiety and achieve their goals.

You see, avoidance is the number one killer of confidence and high achievement. All of the mistakes above entail some form of avoidance.

To take on your biggest challenges, you will need some level of confidence that you can handle them. The way to build this confidence is by building momentum. Start out by strategically taking on opportunities that push you out of your comfort zone by about 20%. Then go up to 40%. Then 60%. Then 80%. Then 100% (your most difficult and important goal).

As Newton discovered, a body at rest stays at rest and a body in motion stays in motion. Get the ball rolling by taking on smaller challenges, and soon you’ll have momentum on your side to help you with the larger challenges.