photo by: vuvan.com

Have you ever heard, "You fear what you don't know" or maybe, "Fear of the unknown" ???  The answer seems to be given in those two quotes and to lessen your fears and boost your confidence, use learning as your tool to gain the confidence.  Why does learning build confidence?  In my experience when I learn something, I feel better prepared to make wiser decisions based upon information I have, instead of feeling frozen by the alien feeling of not knowing.  This article will explore how to boost your confidence through learning.

Social Communication

We must communicate with others on a daily basis and every situation is very different from the next.  Have you ever been in a situation where your confidence level was low because it felt like everyone in the room knew so much more than you?  Well, maybe if you went to a convention that focused on a specific topic and you didn't have a clue about the topic, it doesn't mean you could not learn about it.  Take situations like these to learn or better yet read books and develop yourself on how to handle such social situations.  Learning social communication skills will help you fit in with any situation and you don't always need to be the expert.  There are techniques to handle such situations and a good book to help you in these situation is How to Talk to Anyone: 92 Little Tricks for Big Success in Relationships. 

Get Out of Your Comfort Zone(s)

We all have our safety blanket zones that we establish in our lives.  It is the cozy place and safe because we know what to expect and everything is within our control.  The danger in this is that if things change, and everything eventually does, you will not know what to do.  Step out of your zones and explore the edge a little bit.  You don't have to cross the edge but get outside of that zone and peek at the unknown.  I am not saying or suggesting to be wreckless and make stupid decisions, make it a point to learn through experiences and mix things up in life to keep it exciting and you can learn a lot by trying different things.  For example, if you have never taken a hike during a full moon because you are afraid what might be lurking in the dark of the night, research a hiking location and take some friends for a moonlit walk.  I did this and the wonderful thing about it is that, nobody is around, the world is basically your playground because everyone else is in their safety bubble.  Learn and boost your confidence by trying different things and exposing yourself to different situations.

Mistakes

O.K., I am human, I admit it and YES I have made TONS upon TONS of mistakes in my life, but the best part is that I LEARNED from them.  Don't be afraid of failing or making mistakes because it could hold you back!  I feel that I am a much better and confident person today because I made so many mistakes in the past, yet I learned and moved forward with my life successfully that it gave me the experiences in life that gave me the confidence to not fear failure, because failure is not permanent.  Inaction can be permanent!

Books

I love books and all my life, whatever I wanted to learn, I read about it.  I used to go the library (before the days of the internet) and checked out the maximum amount of books on topics that I was curious about.  Never lose that curiosity and seek the information that others have to teach through books.  I visit the library monthly and even though I usually have late charges, I continually learn through books and the gain the wisdom and knowledge from other peoples experiences and expertise.

Observe

I learn a lot by observing.  All throughout my life I would always observe something before I tried it.  I remembered when I first moved to Hawaii, and surfing is of course a big thing there.  I remember sitting on the beach for about a month, just observing how the good surfers did what they did and took mental notes on how to do the same.  I would also watch the bad surfers and keep the mental notes on what not to do.  Of course there comes a time when you must dip your feet in the water and learn by doing, but you can gain a lot of confidence by observing before actually doing because everything won't be such a shock and uncommon surprise.

Learn by talking and listening

Talk to others!  Everyone knows a lot about something, strike up a conversation and ask a lot of questions.  You can learn a lot about a topic by asking an expert or even your neighbor about their interests and ask questions about it.  I am sure if you ask questions about a person's passion and interest, you cannot get them to shut up, but you should shut up and listen, learn and take it in.  You might gain something and boost your confidence in learning something new and who knows that information might come into use one of these days.  I wish I could talk to that Bear guy...

Reading my blog

You can learn a lot about my 5 p's of personal innovation by reading my blog.  Ok that was a marketing plug for myself but yes you could learn by reading blogs, including mines and others that could give you insight in many different topics.  Maybe start your own blog to share some of your opinions and knowledge.  We all have something to offer and writing a blog is a learning and sharing of information wrapped up into one.  Take action and make it a point to continually learn, it will boost your confidence and might ease those fears of your unknowns.