A while back I wrote about challenging yourself beyond what you thought was possible. As your confidence grows, you will find yourself experiencing things you never thought you could. Challenging yourself to try new things doesn’t have to just focus on an extremely physical challenge, like I talked about previously. It could mean trying something you may have been afraid of because of phobias or fear over what you think people will say about you or your appearance. This will help you reach new heights in your wellness journey and confidence.
Stepping Out
Trying new things is important when you are going through a wellness journey. More importantly, it acts as a gauge to tell you where you are at. It also helps you build confidence. The challenge within the challenge is, if you don’t reach your goal or meet the challenge, it is finding the positive and building on it.
Stepping out can put us in uncomfortable situations. There are still areas that I struggle with. For instance, in the future I want to run a sprint triathlon, aside from training, the challenge for me is to put on a swimsuit. I haven’t worn one in years because of the way people would look at me or comments that were made. Now that I’ve lost a lot of weight, a side effect is loose skin. It’s not flattering, to be honest, it’s embarrassing even though I pass it off as showing success. While I plan to eventually have surgery, until then I have to overcome this fear. It’s still a work in progress.
While some areas might be a struggle and take more time, there are other areas where you can work to overcome your fears. I have a severe fear of heights, partly due to my lack of balance. As I have lost weight and become more comfortable in my new body, I’ve also found that my balance is better. This has built up my confidence in attempting things I wouldn’t normally do. Now I’m stepping out to try new things to reach new heights.
Reaching New Heights
As confidence grows, determine what you want to accomplish, where you want to travel and what is potentially within reach. Then, determine what you need to do to set yourself up for success to reach that challenge. Not every challenge, although attainable, can be done overnight. Some, many, require extra preparation and training.
I’ve talked about training for half marathons, and I have set a goal to run my first marathon in 2026. This is not something I can do overnight. It’s taken years of training and will take continued training to reach my goal of finishing.
In regard to my fear of heights, I recently took a short hiking trip to southern Utah. The goal was to visit some national parks I’ve never been to and hike some trails I wouldn’t have attempted before. To some, these trails may not seem like a challenge, but for me, they would have been impossible a few years ago. The Narrows was a challenge for my physical and mental stamina, and it was amazing. The hike to Scout’s Lookout and the Angel’s Landing Trailhead tested my stamina and my fear of heights. While I still struggled with the heights, I made it to Scout’s Lookout. I’m in no way ready for Angel’s Landing. The experience was a struggle, but the feeling and view was amazing.
Share How You Feel
The hiking trip I went on was a solo trip, with the goal of experiencing new things to reach new heights in my wellness journey. Although it was solo, I still had people I was checking in with. There were several safety checks in place. When I got off a major trail, I would check-in once I had signal. Entering The Narrows made me worried because I wasn’t confident in my balance. I was afraid of falling in. When I did my check-in, I celebrated not only not falling in, but also the accomplishment of overcoming my mental state to get through the hike and beauty.
Similarly, hiking to Scout’s Lookout is a lot of scaling the side of the canyon walls and looking over the valley. The views are amazing, but it took awhile for me to overcome the height. I was actually most worried about going down. The trail is steep, and I was afraid of slipping and rolling down and off the side, maybe a little irrational. At some point, something flipped in my mind. I made it up safely, so I could make it down safely. Now, I want to go back. The fear is still there, but my confidence in myself has grown. I celebrated with a long text because I was proud of my accomplishment.
Seeing Yourself in a New Light
As you go through your wellness journey and build on the challenges you put yourself through, your confidence grows. You’ll begin to see yourself in a new light. Take pride in your accomplishments. If you don’t reach your goal, use it as a moment to grow. How far did you make it? What do I need to do next time? What positives are there? Even if you do reach your goal, ask these questions because the next step is setting new goals or building on your success. The idea is to reach new heights in your wellness journey and learn more about yourself.