We’re halfway through the year and I’ve failed most of my MMCs and skipped one entirely. So why do I keep doing them? Why plan to do something outside my comfort zone, often something way beyond what I think I’m actually capable of achieving? Why, when I have so much else going on in life, do I continue to challenge myself, if I know the chances of failure are so high?
Well… Because they are.
Have you ever heard that you get more done when you’re busy? Or that you work harder when something is harder to achieve? What about the idea that when you have all the time in the world to work on your dreams, the dream you work on is sleeping in and watching tv?
Generally speaking, I’m a firm believer in challenging yourself in all aspects of your life, all the time. So why should that change just because I’m busy? And moreover, where lies the challenge in challenging yourself when it’s easy to do so?
Ok, so why should we constantly challenge ourselves in the first place?
Honestly, if you’re asking that question, I’m a little confused why you’re reading my blog in the first place. But hey, if I didn’t think readers were interested, I wouldn’t be writing this to begin with- so I’ll humour us all, shall I?
As you might have surmised from the structure of my MMC posts, I believe in the power and importance of constantly learning and growing in life. Learning new things and expanding your mind serves to open new doors, make difficult situations easier to handle, and introduce you to concepts you may have never considered before.
Learning comes in two major forms:
1. Lessons you stumble upon- e.g. learning that your local community house holds mothers group meetings while you’re there refreshing your RSA.
2. Lessons you discover through reflection/action- i.e. the lessons you seek out by challenging yourself and reflecting on the outcome of the challenge.
A large part of life’s lessons come from that second form, whether we realise it or not. Right from the beginning we challenge ourselves to take steps, form new sounds (that later turn into words), create new relationships, and even master eating difficult foods. As we grow up we challenge ourselves to retain information at school, make new friends and learn how to drive.
For many people, it’s assumed that the learning stops there- but in no way does it. What does change as we get older is the desire to challenge ourselves to learn.
Big or small, opportunities to challenge ourselves are present every single day- it’s up to us to take on those challenges.
Slap-stick comedy or doco tonight? Usual fish and chips for dinner, or try something new? You’re picking up a book… Is it a novel or a nonfiction? There are always moments in life to learn something new about the world- or yourself- if you keep your eyes open.
For many of us though, we don’t make the most of those moments. I’m just the same. I have the Duolingo app on my phone, and I occasionally use it, but not as much as I could. A desire to learn Spanish doesn’t have the same effect as actually putting in the time to study it.
That’s why I do MMCs- and why I encourage people to actively challenge themselves.
If we put in the effort to try new things and challenge ourselves, we’re more likely to get results from our everyday lives.
You hear all the time about the people who got far in a career or passion project because they worked hard and challenged themselves. By putting themselves outside of their comfort zone and pushing themselves to try new things and go beyond what they originally thought themselves capable of, they were able to achieve more than they could have ever imagined.
AND YOU CAN TOO.
You just have to believe in yourself and TRY.
Ironically (considering the context of this post) I didn’t do an MMC last month. So, my next post will be something different. But I do have two more MMCs planned before the year ends.
In July I am challenging myself to work on something hard/scary/challenging. If you’re using camp nano or not, I would love to know what you’re working on and if it’s pushing you to try new things.
In August I will be challenging myself to write 31 poems in 31 days (it was going to be 30 in 30, but I moved it up a month- oh well). This will be a fun one, so I hope you’ll all join me in trying this.
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