Why Your New Year's Resolution Should Be to Try Something New That Scares You

Jacqueline Adan's incredibly impressive 350-pound weight-loss journey has inspired thousands of people over the last several years. Along the way, Adan has opened up about how every person's road back to health is different and how losing weight won't magically make you happy. And now, she's here to remind everyone about the importance of conquering your fears head-on.

Recently, she took to Instagram to share something that's helped her get this far in her journey: pushing herself out of her comfort zone. To elaborate, she shared a video of herself boxing, saying, "My gym offers a boxing class and it took me forever to try it out. Now...better watch out." (

"I get asked all of the time, 'When and how do I start if I want to begin working out?'" she continued. "My best advice is to just start. Start right where you are. Do what you can. Find something you love and never give up." (Find out what happened when Shape editors swapped workouts for a month.)

Adan couldn't be more right. There are serious benefits to tackling something totally new and scary-whether it's a new workout you've always wanted to try or heading to the gym for the first time in months or years. For starters, there are so many mind-body benefits of trying something new. Plus, the more new things you try to conquer, the more capable, confident, and badass you'll feel. And who doesn't want to feel like a badass?

If you rise to the challenge, "every day you will get stronger," says Adan. "Every day your body will be able to do new things you never thought you could do. Every day you keep loving yourself, pushing yourself and doing what best for you...that's when the strength inside of you grows and your inner confidence will shine through."

So as you head into the New Year thinking about your goals and resolutions, remember this: "It's never about what you can't do, it's always about what you can do," writes Adan. "So get out there, kick some butt and know that you are so much stronger than you think you are."