Acquire a new skill!

Do you have an ambition to do something specific? I don’t mean dating; I mean something like learning to fly, mountain climbing, or learning to sail. Something exciting, that will stretch you a little.

If you have the means to do it, why not? Set yourself a plan of action; perhaps do some research here on the Internet. If you can find a way of doing it, give it a go! You have nothing to lose by trying.

I have improved my confidence no end over the last three years by trying various things that have made my life much more exciting. Three years ago, I decided to take up a martial art. I ended up with a slightly wacky but great bunch of people, and improved my confidence a lot!

Two years ago, I decided to learn to fly. This was very exciting for me! I’m still trying to achieve that goal, although for the present, funds are somewhat limited, and as learning to fly is expensive, the project has had to be put on hold. In doing that, I met another great bunch of people, and had a great time! I have really fond memories of the first day I flew solo. (You fly solo before you get your licence when learning to fly.)

Also two years ago, I decided to take up dancing. I’ve written about that elsewhere on this site. Again, I met some great like-minded people!

The time I was most nervous with these things was when I decided to go out and join a club or school that taught the specific skill. The only case where this was not true was the martial arts, where I was most nervous the times I was graded. It’s especially the case where I started learning to fly! I was most nervous of all just before I went to visit the flying club for the first time; so nervous that it actually made me sick. This exceeded the nervousness that I felt when learning to land the aeroplane; flying solo for the first time; and flying a cross-country route solo for the first time.

Deciding to do something like this will make you a more attractive person. You may find that people will say to you, “I wish I could do something like that!” Of course, they usually can! They may be too scared to try it. Part of developing confidence is learning to overcome your fears when trying something new. It’s always the case that the first time you do something, you don’t have any previous experience to tell you how it’s going to go, so this will be the most scary. Once you have pushed past that feeling, it gets easier the next time you do it, and thereafter.

Finally, if you aren’t looking to go dating, you may just find that you end up dating somebody! That happened to me when I went to a dancing school.

Are you procrastinating? If you’re saying to yourself that you’d love to do something like this but you haven’t got the time, I’m afraid the only advice I can offer you is that you have to make time to do anything! That may mean that something else has to give. Do you really need to watch lots of repeats of your favourite TV programmes? Perhaps you can miss a few of those!

So, don’t procrastinate. Just get out there and do something! You’ll be glad you did!

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