I’ve been thinking a lot about this over the last week, doing research on the various areas around self confidence and self esteem and I also looked back on my personal experience. I came to a conclusion…
I thought back to my life several years ago, when I was involved in what I believed to be the "worst marriage ever". My self esteem was at an all-time low, suicidal thoughts were common and at times I really wondered how the world had turned out to be such a horrible place.
When I made the decision to finally leave, it’s not because my self esteem had suddenly improved – that happened later – it was because something inside of me finally realised that this wasn’t right and I needed to get out to protect my daughter.
Later, after I had left my marriage and realised that the sky didn’t fall in and that I was able to cope (I coped very well in fact!), was when I finally experienced a boost in my self esteem. I had succeeded at something I had been too afriad to try, and that’s what gave my self esteem a huge boost!
So while you may not feel confident about doing something outside of your comfort zone, even taking baby steps towards doing it will gradually build your confidence. You will reach a point where you will be able to undertake tasks even further outside of your comfort zone than you ever thought imaginable!
I have read several times that one thing to improve our self-confidence is to face our fears. I guess it is somehow similar to your situation. Its good that you finally get out from something that destroys your self. Now you’re finally free and confident.