YES, YES, YES

‘’Stepping outside of your comfort zone is not about saying yes to everything and it’s not about doing something you really don’t want to do,’’ says Feel the Fear trainer and life coach Alison Hollingworth-Reason. ‘’It involves becoming more open to change and more flexible in your decision-making.” Ultimately it makes life less stressful because you’re more likely to go with the flow and not worry if plans change or things don’t work out. Saying yes more often is worth the effort too because studies have shown that learning new things and having new experiences could help increase brain power. “If you only do activities you’re used to, your brain can rely on memory to complete them,” says Rebecca. “When you do something new, your brain is forced to create new pathways to deal with it. Children learn every day in order to develop; their brain function is huge because it’s constantly in use so try to adopt a childlike enthusiasm for new things and see how much your memory improves.” New experiences could breathe life into your relationships too. “It provides different things to talk about with your partner, new plans to make and increased confidence,” says Rebecca. “If you’d like to increase your social circle, taking part in new activities is an enjoyable way to form new friendships.”