Challenge Accepted
In today's world, everything revolves around instant gratification, comfortability, and convenience. Almost everything we could ever want or need to know is at our fingertips. This way of living has essentially removed all external challenges from our life. We no longer seek out challenges, instead, we actively avoid them. We think of challenges as nothing more than an inconvenience or unwanted nuisance. This way of thinking lacks perspective and open-mindedness. Taking and facing challenges can build resilience, discipline, and mental fortitude. So, after realizing this I did what any normal person would do, I accepted a challenge.
I recently just finished a week-long challenge from The little Black Book of Workout Motivation by Mike Matthews. The week featured different daily challenges ranging from cold showers to eating only clean food. All challenges lasted for the entire duration of the day, meaning for a whole week I was constantly facing a new daily obstacle. The challenges were designed in a way to challenge every area of life while counterbalancing the day’s previous challenge. After completing the week, I came away with several key takeaways in relation to facing and accomplishing challenges. I believe these takeaways will benefit anybody undergoing any type of challenge, self-induced or not.
After completing the week of challenges I learned one thing if nothing else, to succeed in the face of any obstacle, one must learn how to properly manage time. Time management is a critical skill everyone should possess regardless of circumstances. Properly managing time allows us to effectively complete our work, prepare for the day ahead, and permit enough time for rest/recovery.
During the challenge week, I still had to work a full-time job and juggle all my other personal responsibilities, while still conducting the daily challenge. Each day required me to set aside time within my normal routine to support myself in the challenge or to complete a specific task required for the day. The whole week highlighted some weaknesses in my ability to effectively manage time and revealed some pockets of time where I could get more out of my day.
I began organizing my days through my calendar via outlook. This helped me outline my days and gave me a better picture of how I could maximize my free time. I would create events with a clear start and end time. Having this outline clarified what I needed to do and where to be, so the rest of my day could go smoothly. In addition to utilizing my calendar, I started creating reminders on my phone to help take some of the mental fatigue off of me. When you are consistently busy throughout the day having subtle push notification reminders can help clear up mental traffic.
During the week some challenges were more difficult than others but one thing which they all had in common was they all sucked in their own unique way. For a whole week, I did something every day that sucked. Surprisingly though, this made each day better and even more enjoyable. How the hell does that make any sense?
Well, when you do something that sucks, it will make everything else you may usually stress or worry about not as big a deal. Doing things that suck have an ability to put your life in a different perspective. For example, you may complain about getting up at 6 am daily for work but once you have to get up at 5 am the normal time begins to not seem so bad after all. After the daily challenge was completed I would take some time to either journal or discuss how it went with a friend. Doing this allowed me to realize how things may not always be what they seem and could always be worse.
In the words of the savage that is David Goggins, most people quit at 40%. Seeing a difficult challenge through to the other end and coming out on top is rewarding. It builds mental fortitude by grinding out the work and not allowing a way out. Doing this requires you to accept all responsibility regardless of the outcome. It is all on you. Welcome the challenges in your life, don’t run from them or try to avoid them. Accept them and then face them head-on. If you fail, fail knowing you gave every single ounce of effort possible. There were multiple times throughout the week where I couldn’t help but think, why the fuck am I doing this to myself?
I chose that I was going to see the week through and not quit. Every day I held myself accountable by either using a habit tracker or by discussing the daily challenge with a friend. By not allowing myself to quit, I was forced to face the challenge regardless of how I felt that particular day. Through accepting responsibility we are better equipped to accomplish the challenges in our life.
The week of challenges resembled a microscopic version of what we endure in life. Regardless of circumstances or environment, we will constantly be faced with challenges that are uncomfortable, relentless, and which push us to be better. I hope from reading this you think of the challenges in your own life differently and when a new one arises you graciously accept it.
Thank you for reading.
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