Trying something new can be terrifying. It’s like your mind is being torn in two directions – one part says, “give it a try” and the other says “get the hell out of there”. Sometimes when we think of trying something new, our minds are flooded with thoughts that hold us back. We imagine every little thing that could possibly go wrong.

When it comes to doing something new, there is that critical moment when we are about to do it, but we just can’t take the leap. Here is something you can do to overcome that barrier.

First, name the fear. You’ll notice that when try something new, thoughts will pop into head sayings things “Don’t do this, it will be so embarrassing”. When this happens say to yourself “Oh my brain is trying to make me scared” Notice the fearful thoughts come up.

Next, blame your brain. When you notice the thoughts come up say to yourself “Okay my brain telling to be scared, but really I don’t need to be, everything is going to be okay”.

Once you have done that, focus your attention on what you are about to do, rather than the stressful thoughts flying flying your head. Feel the fear and do it anyway.

Doing these steps will train your brain not to feel so stressed the next time you try something new. It will take time to practice this – the stress isn’t going to disappear immediately.

Okay that’s some practical steps to feel less scared and act confidently, but I feel like I should mention this: true confidence is being comfortable with failures. Trying something new makes us scared because we are so worried that things will go wrong, that we will fail. And the truth is we will fail sometimes. You can only act with real confidence when you accept this fact and be comfortable with it. We act with confidence when we can fail and keep trying.

Remember, you are more than your failures.