Humans are born needing to feel safe and comfortable, but the safety we desire as infants may be the factor holding us back in during the rest of our lives.

Staying in your comfort zone for too long puts you at risk of never accomplishing your dreams.

Have you made attempt to change or face your fear? When was the last time you took a risk that made you a little uneasy? The thought probably makes a bit nervous.

Tackling the queasy feeling in the pit of your stomach results in personal growth.
Seek out that nauseous feeling and participate in activities that push your limits. You will learn to be afraid of less as you encounter life’s obstacles.

There are many great resources that help you conquer your fears. Talk to supportive friend or family member. Read a self-help book. Go at it alone if you are really brave. Deep-seeded anxieties may require speaking to a therapist to work through.

If you fail, so what? Resilience takes practice. To be come an expert at something you need to acquire 10,000 hours of practice, so get started!

Baker Creative is a brand architectural firm that practices an holistic branding approach which encompasses marketing, business, HR, public relations, social media and new media with creative execution. You can follow her on Twitter @BakerCreative or read the team’s blog.

Conventional wisdom says that what goes up, must come down. But even if you view market volatility as a normal occurrence, it can be tough to handle when it's your money at stake. Though there's no foolproof way to handle the ups and downs of the stock market, the following common sense tips can help.

Don't put your eggs all in one basket

Diversifying your investment portfolio is one of the key ways you can handle market volatility. Because asset classes often perform differently under different market conditions, spreading your assets across a variety of investments such as stocks, bonds, and cash alternatives (e.g., money market funds, CDs, and other short-term instruments), has the potential to help reduce your overall risk. Ideally, a decline in one type of asset will be balanced out by a gain in another, but diversification can't eliminate the possibility of market loss.

One way to diversify your portfolio is through asset allocation. Asset allocation involves identifying the asset classes that are appropriate for you and allocating a certain percentage of your investment dollars to each class (e.g., 70 percent to stocks, 20 percent to bonds, 10 percent to cash alternatives). An easy way to decide on an appropriate mix of investments is to use a worksheet or an interactive tool that suggests a model or sample allocation based on your investment objectives, risk tolerance level, and investment time horizon.

Focus on the forest, not on the trees

As the market goes up and down, it's easy to become too focused on day-to-day returns. Instead, keep your eyes on your long-term investing goals and your overall portfolio. Although only you can decide how much investment risk you can handle, if you still have years to invest, don't overestimate the effect of short-term price fluctuations on your portfolio.

Look before you leap

When the market goes down and investment losses pile up, you may be tempted to pull out of the stock market altogether and look for less volatile investments. The small returns that typically accompany low-risk investments may seem attractive when more risky investments are posting negative returns.

But before you leap into a different investment strategy, make sure you're doing it for the right reasons. How you choose to invest your money should be consistent with your goals and time horizon.

For instance, putting a larger percentage of your investment dollars into vehicles that offer safety of principal and liquidity (the opportunity to easily access your funds) may be the right strategy for you if your investment goals are short-term (e.g., you'll need the money soon to buy a house) or if you're growing close to reaching a long-term goal such as retirement. But if you still have years to invest, keep in mind that stocks have historically outperformed stable value investments over time, although past performance is no guarantee of future results. If you move most or all of your investment dollars into conservative investments, you've not only locked in any losses you might have, but you've also sacrificed the potential for higher returns.

Look for the silver lining

A down market, like every cloud, has a silver lining. The silver lining of a down market is the opportunity you have to buy shares of stock at lower prices.

One of the ways you can do this is by using dollar cost averaging. With dollar cost averaging, you don't try to "time the market" by buying shares at the moment when the price is lowest. In fact, you don't worry about price at all. Instead, you invest a specific amount of money at regular intervals over time.

When the price is higher, your investment dollars buy fewer shares of stock, but when the price is lower, the same dollar amount will buy you more shares.

For example, let's say that you decided to invest $300 each month towards your child's college education. As the illustration shows, your regular monthly investment of $300 bought more shares when the price was low and fewer shares when the price was high:

Although dollar cost averaging can't guarantee you a profit or avoid a loss, a regular fixed dollar investment may result in a lower average price per share over time, assuming you continue to invest through all types of markets. You should consider your financial and emotional ability to make ongoing purchases, regardless of price fluctuations, however.

(This hypothetical example is for illustrative purposes only and does not represent the performance of any particular investment. Actual results will vary.)

Don't stick your head in the sand

While focusing too much on short-term gains or losses is unwise, so is ignoring your investments. You should check up on your portfolio at least once a year, more frequently if the market is particularly volatile or when there have been significant changes in your life. You may need to rebalance your portfolio to bring it back in line with your investment goals and risk tolerance. A financial professional can help you decide which investment options are right for you.

Don't count your chickens before they hatch

As the market recovers from a down cycle, elation quickly sets in. If the upswing lasts long enough, it's easy to believe that investing in the stock market is a sure thing. But, of course, it never is. As many investors have learned the hard way, becoming overly optimistic about investing during the good times can be as detrimental as worrying too much during the bad times. The right approach during all kinds of markets is to be realistic. Have a plan, stick with it, and strike a comfortable balance between risk and return.

The new edition of The Women's Book is all about Confidence: Getting It, Keeping It and Passing It On. Perhaps nowhere is this more applicable than in the classroom where teachers pass on knowledge to their students daily. Fortunately, we have been blessed with a number of women who have blazed the education trail. 

 This year's book spotlights four trailblazers in the field of education from the Central Ohio area community (pictured left to right):

- Lee Hall, Retired Columbus City Schools Educator and Education Consultant

- Donna Evans, Ph.D., Dean and Professor Emeritus, College of Education, The Ohio State University

- Barbara Yarborough, Teacher, Columbus Africentric School

- M. Valeriana Moeller, Past President, Columbus State Community College

Join us for the release of 2011-2012 Edition of The Women's Book in Columbus on September 29, 2011 presented by Nationwide Insurance and The Ohio State University Medical Center.

Want to join us in Cincinnati? Register for our Cincinnati Release on October 19, 2011. 

Read More Confidence Boosters:

Christie Angel, Vice President, Sean Dunn and Associates - Engage in a Personal Pep Talk

Katie Smith, Basketball Player, WNBA Seattle Storm - Bouncing Back

Kieona Basden, Student, Columbus City Preparatory School for Girls - When You're At the End of Your Rope

Here, Home, Hope won a National Indie Excellence Award! And Kaira’s Book Tour is underway! Tour stops so far include Malibu, Los Angeles, Sacramento, Capitola, San Francisco, Dayton, Cincinnati, Columbus, Dallas, Nashville and more!