Imagine being able to handle any circumstance with confidence. What would your life look like if you experienced more confidence in uncertain situations. Being outside provides opportunities to increase your confidence in ways you might have never imagined. Whether through meeting new people, successfully trying something new, or focusing on a central goal with a group.
Meet New People
Being outside encourages you to meet new people. Encountering another group at a beautiful waterfall or sharing a river trip with another family gives you the opportunity to meet new people while sharing an experience together. Because we evaluate people according to our surroundings, being outside allows us to share experiences with people that we might never cross paths with in our daily lives. In fact, the people we meet through outdoor experiences might even be people we would try to avoid on a daily basis. By sharing these experiences with new people, we gain the confidence to meet new people in our everyday lives and recognize their value as people, not as a member of a political party or affiliated with a specific type of music.
Try Something New
Successfully trying something new in an unfamiliar space (outside) is another way to gain confidence in times of uncertainty. In order to give yourself the best chance of being successful, there are a few “does and don’ts” that you might want to observe.
1. Start slow.
There is no shame in choosing an easy activity in an uncomfortable scenario to build confidence. When our Guests call in to inquire about other outdoor experiences near Wildwater, we often give at least one suggestion that is considered an Easy in Challenge and a High in Rewarding. This is to give people the opportunity to experience the highest level of success possible.
2. Go Guided.
If you want to try a new experience, often the best route is to choose a guided adventure. Not only will your guide be trained in helping you through your experience, we also train our guides to help you progress if you want to expand to adventuring on your own!
3. Don’t Give In.
Too many times we have seen mom or dad join their family on an adventure because they do not want to cause the rest of the group to do a less extreme activity. While this often works out—we suggest having an honest conversation with your group and asking them to support you as you attempt something outside of your comfort zone or support you as you choose a less extreme activity for yourself.
Remember that just because you want to learn something new in order to adventure with others, you won’t necessarily be at their level immediately. Don’t be afraid to spend time learning!
Focus on a Central Goal with a Group
Perhaps the most important way that being outside increases our confidence is by showing us the importance of shared group experiences. For even more information, check out this blog on focus. Trusting in the group and experiencing success together naturally gives us greater confidence, because it teaches us to trust those around us in times of need. Getting down a river takes multiple people doing different tasks but unified around a common goal to be successful. If this sounds familiar, that might be because this is how every successful person or company in the world works. The greatest surprise about gaining confidence in life is that it actually requires us to trust those around us.
We all aspire to be more confident, but only so much can be learned through books. Create more confidence in yourself through new experiences in the outdoors. Trust other people to walk with you in this journey, but most importantly, remember to have fun adventuring together!