What happens whenever someone comes up to you and issues you a Challenge?
Do you tend to back away because you fear confrontation, or do you take an attitude that resembles something more along the lines of:
“Bring it on! Anything you can do, I can do better!”
Most people – whether they are willing to admit it or not – will take the standpoint of accepting challenges simply because they don’t want to be viewed as the person who couldn’t handle any given situation.
Now, I’m not talking about drunk people at bars picking fights or challenging you to see how many shots of tequila you can do in 5 minutes…
No, the type of challenges that I am talking about are things that you actually WANT to do, even if it is just to prove that you can do it.
After recently listening to Heidi Miller’s podcast about overcoming challenges, I was struck by her use of the term “challenge solving” and immediately had the idea to put together an empowering blog post about that concept. Big thanks to Heidi for such an excellent phrase!
As with so many other things that have been discussed in the past on this blog, the way that you think and feel about something is the primary driving force behind your level of success in that endeavor.
If you view something as negative, then your results surrounding that thing will be perceived by you to be negative. On the flip side, if you see something as positive, then you will perceive positive results about that thing.
This is the fundamental – yet very basic – mind shift that most people fail to actually fully grasp, and their lack of success in certain areas of their life is a result.
So, if you see something as a “problem” then you immediately put yourself into the frame of mind of needing to solve that problem.
And what is the nature of a problem? Something that needs a solution, and then is taken from your focus once the solution has been found.
Does that sound like the kind of attitude that you should take towards your LIFE? Are you just looking to solve one problem after another, just to find another problem waiting around the next corner?
Compare that to the concept of a “challenge”. Whenever you are challenged to accomplish something, the immediate mental process that goes into place is that you are going to have to make a consistent effort to win the challenge.
Please note the key phrase ‘consistent effort‘.
You will not need to go very far through the archives of this blog or the archives of articles that I have written in order to find many references to the fact that consistency is one of the primary keys to success.
A challenge is not something that you accept, find a solution for, and then push away because you are done with it. No, a challenge is something that you have to continually apply focus to in order to succeed.
Whether you have challenged yourself to the attainment of a goal, or if you are competing with other people in the challenge, you will still have to make a continual effort in order to win the challenge.
Consider the following list of problems and challenges and note the obvious difference between how resolving problems is a one-time affair, while winning challenges is an on-going effort.
Problem: You have a flat tire. Solution: Install the spare tire and get the flat tire fixed.
Problem: You just cut your finger slicing carrots. Solution: Wash it out and put on a band-aid.
Problem: Your workload is getting out of control at work. Solution: Apply time and material management practices and put in some extra time until your workload is caught up.
You challenge yourself to lose 20 pounds in 3 months. Instant Solution: Start and continue on a diet and exercise plan that will allow you to lose the weight. Long-term Benefit: You will have innumerable health and personal benefits as a result of your weight loss efforts, and you will have learned to live a lifestyle that will benefit you for the rest of your life.
You challenge yourself to get out of debt within 12 months. Instant Solution: You come up with a savings plan and/or a way to bring in more income in order to eliminate your debt. Long-term Benefit: You will have the opportunity to potentially live debt-free from now on, and you will have developed the habit of long-term financial awareness that will ensure financial freedom for the rest of your life.
You challenge yourself to stop smoking. Instant Solution: You apply a consistent regimen of both physical and psychological practices that eventually allow you to kick the habit completely. Long-term Benefit: You will probably live a lot longer, but just as importantly, you will have developed a level of confidence that will allow you to more fully enjoy the rest of your life.
In the case of solving the problems that were listed, yes, you got some immediate satisfaction. Take a closer look at the challenges, though.
What are the 3 things that you can see about every single instance of accepting and overcoming each of the challenges that were listed?
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Give up? Here they are:
1) The so-called “instant solution” was actually a HUGE benefit, and not something so inconsequential as fixing a flat tire, getting caught up at work, or slapping a band-aid on a minor cut.
2) Every challenge also had a long-term benefit associated with it. Not only was there the instant benefit, but there was a long-term on-going benefit as well.
3) And finally, every challenge ended with you having skills, habits, beliefs, or confidence levels that would last you for the rest of your life.
So, from now on whenever you are faced with something that you perceive to be a problem, do not go into problem solving mode. Go into CHALLENGE solving mode and turn that situation into an opportunity to not only resolve the issue, but to create a better life for yourself in the process!