I was delivering leadership development recently and we were talking about “The Comfort Zone”.  

I drew the model, asked if everyone agreed with it (100% yes) and asked if everyone was keen to step out beyond their comfort zones (100% yes).

I then said “So this is just theory, and easy to agree with- you’re now going to go out in pairs, find a stranger, challenge them to do something outside of their comfort zone, get another stranger to video it, and you need to be in the video with them”.

(less than 100% enthusiasm).

But as per usual, people felt confident and alive returning with their video footage.

If you want to build confidence in yourself (or your children), it comes from having experiences outside your comfort zone, regardless of success.

(check out the TED talk on “100 Days of Rejection” in terms of confidence coming from lack of success outside the comfort zone)