Hi there, welcome to the board!
We need some basic information first. Like what version of Outlook you are running. I'm going to assume it's 2007, and also that you're talking about the Navigation pane. In multiple versions (since 2002) you have been able to show more or fewer main navigation buttons (i.e. mail, calendar, contacts, tasks, journal, etc). From the very bottom left of the navigation pane there is a button where you can see the option to Show More Buttons or Show Fewer Buttons, this should be what you want.
If this doesn't answer your question, please post back some basic details, along with anything specific your problem may revolve around. Screen shots work well too.