Learning New Things Reduces Anxiety and Builds Confidence

Photo by Avel Chuklanov on Unsplash

 

Learning is a lifelong, captivating journey that is continuous and fluid. When you learn, your brain produces new brain cells and creates fresh neural pathways to boost memory and reduce the risk of brain deterioration. 

According to Harvard Business Review, learning new things reduces stress and builds confidence. Reframing learning as a form of stress relief and vehicle for growth and self-improvement can help to change the way you think about learning as a whole. 

There are several benefits of learning new things, here they are. 

Build Confidence 

Imagine making a conscious decision to learn something new such as a new recipe or rollerskating. You dedicate yourself to assimilating the information each day, studying and implementing the steps to get it right. As time goes on, you get better and better, you eventually tick the box and you can officially say that you passed the test. 

How do you feel when you complete your course and achieve something? How does it make you feel? On top of the world, proud and more confident in your abilities, you pick up a course and start learning again, the confidence grows and you feel really good about yourself. 

Learning builds confidence and motivates you to keep pushing on. Remember that you might not always achieve your goal, but the fact that you tried should make you feel more confident in yourself. 

Reduce Anxiety 

The whole concept of learning might make you feel anxious because you need to develop an understanding of brand new ideas and that might initially scare you. However, with a little effort, you should start to feel less anxious about your choice to learn something new. 

You can drastically reduce anxiety by focusing on something positive, but remember that learning is supposed to be a positive experience. A chance to experience growth and development however, sometimes learning can make you feel like you need to be perfect. It doesn't have to be this way, the act of learning is imperfect in itself because you are developing an understanding of a new concept, it's not supposed to be perfect. 

When you enrol in a course, for example, remember that learning isn't about rushing through your work to finish first. It's not a race, it's a decision to be consistent in your studies, take your time to get it done and do your best. Staying organized and setting yourself small and achievable goals will help to reduce anxiety over time. 

Build Your Skillset 

These days, you can never have enough skills.  The world is ever-changing and the gig economy is encouraging people to learn micro-skills in order to boost their income. You can take a simple social media course that could provide you with the skills that you need to become a freelance social media manager. 

Learning can literally change your life, short courses can give you the knowledge and confidence to ask for a promotion or set up your own business. It builds confidence, reduces stress and boosts self-esteem. Everyone should consider learning something new once, in a while, it's good for your mental and emotional wellbeing in the long run.