How to Be Confident in Taking Risks

Much of the good stuff in life takes place outside of your comfort zone! Learning new things, starting a business, going on adventures, it’s all a bit risky, but where would we be without taking risks? Probably at home on our couches that’s where and although that’s fun occasionally there is so much more to life!

I’d like to share with you a few tools I use to take more risks in life, let me know in the comments below if you have any to add to our list. 

Our primitive brains are wired to keep us in our comfort zones, so sometimes things can seem riskier than they actually are. That part of our brain doesn’t differentiate between trying paddle boarding and a saber tooth tiger encounter, it just says NEW, DANGER, RETREAT!

Thankfully we can use our rational brain, our prefrontal cortex, and reason with ourselves. 

“Remember that failure is an event, not a person.” – Zig Ziglar

Start with the end in mind. 

Think through the risk you want to take and the various outcomes that could happen. For example, if you want to enter a race but you are nervous about coming in last, getting injured, or not finishing, none of those would be fun or an ideal outcome but you could probably handle it.

Even thinking about how you would handle a less-than-ideal outcome can boost your confidence. If you were to train and prepare those outcomes are unlikely, so now that you know you could handle it will allow you to turn your attention and focus to your training and your goal of finishing or even winning the race. 

Take mini risks every day and build your confidence.

 From trying a new food to complimenting a stranger or even posting a selfie, doing small things will build up your confidence.

You will become a person who is more confident by being a person who is more confident. Why not create a list of small things you can do? They will lead to taking bigger risks in no time. 

Time travel 

back to a time when you took a risk, remember how it felt? You are still that person, even if you were a little younger and skinnier back then….

Creating a mental list or even a written list in your journal will boost your confidence, if you did it back then, you can do it again. If you can’t think of anything ask your best friend or a close relative, sometimes the things we don’t think much of really are something impressive. 

Feed your mind,

with inspiration that's it! The world is full of inspiring stories of people who took a risk and accomplished amazing things. Watching, reading, or listening to inspirational content will help you to feel that if they can do it, you can too.

A steady diet of inspiration never hurts anyone and it’s a great investment in your mindset and confidence. 

Now get out there and take a risk! I believe in you!