As a freelancer, your clients come to you to solve a problem. They pay you to write, design, dream and scheme up a better solution than they could ever create.

Every job you accept is an opportunity to grow and most projects land somewhere between “I could do this with my eyes closed” and “I’ve done this before”.

This familiar territory is perfect for refining and strengthening your current abilities. But every once in a while, a project comes along that falls just outside of your comfort zone. Your gut might tell you to pass for fear of looking or feeling stupid but this may be an opportunity to learn new skills, try new tools and explore new techniques. Accepting challenging work is necessary for personal and professional growth.

The good news is, the more you challenge yourself, the better you become at your work. Here are 5 tips to help you push past your fear of inadequacy and develop your professional skill set while you’re at it.