The Benefits of Challenging Yourself
Cold showers, climbing the K2 and chocolate cravings.
Have you ever wondered why it often occurs that you are more motivated than usual when there are competitors in the mix? You feel a desire to win no matter what it is. Sports, quizzes, races, or any other challenges. But what about if it is just you and you alone?
The importance of challenging yourself are not be overseen. Instead of comparing yourself to others to become a better person, compare you to you! Your main competitor in life, the person you will be stuck with all your life is you. The goal is to become a better you than before and whether that is a week, a year or five years ago, you should always try to push your own boundaries.
“You learn something valuable from all of the significant events and people, but you never touch your true potential until you challenge yourself to go beyond imposed limitations.” — Roy T. Bennett
Personal gains
Everyone can challenge themselves in life in many ways and there is no wrong or right way of doing it. By doing so, you are not dependent on other people and you take responsibility for the things you want to get done.
It can be related to work or your relationships, either physical or personal challenges or maybe all of these.
I will try to do things out of my comfort zone now and every then to learn new things. Not only will I potentially learn a new skill, but I will also gain more confidence in general. The feeling of accomplishment will increase my positivity and motivate me in taking on more challenges. This change in approach can exponentially improve you as a person as you acquire more skills and become more self-aware.
The decisions that we make on a daily basis define us and make us who we are. You do not want to fall for the ‘If only…’ trap where you regret not taking the extra step.
Memories
Memory. A recurring theme in my posts and a there is still so much to be learned in my opinion. Before diving into memory specifically, what effect does challenging yourself have on your brain? Neurology 101: learning new things creates new neurons which make new connections and form connections. Neuroplasticity. — Doing new tasks challenges your brain and ensures that you stay tuned on!
In this Harvard article it is explained in depth but in simple words: Reading new information and learning new things triggers your brain. You might have already heard of the saying (which could not be more true): “If you don’t use it, you lose it.” The same goes with your brain. Don’t allow it to collect dust in your body’s upper attic but instead keep it active and young.
Moreover, the world around you will become more and more familiar if you do not experience new things. This is related to “Sensory gating” which is the brains automatic filter for unnecessary information. The more familiar the world, the less information is written down by your brain which results in running a life on autopilot. Running life on autopilot has been a theme during lockdown as your brain is less engaged which can make the days fly by. As the amount of information processing decreases, time went by even quicker.
“Don’t live the same day over and over again and call that a life. Life is about evolving mentally, spiritually, and emotionally.” ― Germany Kent
Interpersonal gains
Having good friends and relationships in general are very important in life, offering us the social interaction and support that can help a person grow and be happy. But have you ever wondered whether you are being the best friend you can be?
By challenging myself I expand my view and learn new things that I would otherwise miss out on. You grow as a person and gain perspective in life on the many things it has to offer. This will eventually stack up and make you a better you! A better you also will turn out to be valuable for others.
The more knowledge you can share, the more value you can create with others for you to become a better friend. This is not only the case for your friends but also in other relationships, e.g. your partner. Relationships improve and deepen all because of a simple mindset change to put yourself to the test.
What kind of challenges work?
The golden question for which the answer can vary from one person to the other. You probably want to start small (to reduce the mental barrier) and from there expand to more challenging things. So, no… You don’t want to challenge yourself to climb the K2 before the end of 2021. Be realistic.
One thing that has worked for me are 30-day challenges. I came across this idea as quite a few Youtubers posted videos with these sorts of challenges. I started relatively easy by meditating for five minutes every day for 30 days straight. From there, I have done 30 days of no caffeine, 30 days of cold showers, 30 days no alcohol and 30 days of using a language app to improve my Spanish. You could challenge your own habits and encourage yourself to workout, or to not eat chocolate for a month. A visual cross-out calendar here can help a lot for motivation purposes as this also functions as your daily reminder.
A couple of guys that have mastered the art of challenging themselves is a youtube channel called YesTheory. With their slogan “Seek discomfort” they try to expand their horizon and get out of their comfort zone. They challenge themselves by thinking of challenges for each other which they either do individually or together.
If you notice you are having difficulties with challenging yourself, you can find an accountability partner who you talk to about your new challenge. From there, you can slowly try to become your own accountability partner so that you take responsibility for your own life.
Taking the responsibility is the decision that you have to make for yourself. Even the little things can reap the desired results. Take control of your own life and do not give up! Here, perseverance is a virtue of the less brilliant which has helped me reach my goals.
