Do you want to grow? Personally? Professionally? Do you want to be stronger in the future than you are now? Most people would acknowledge that, at least in some measure and in some area of their lives, they want to be further along, further developed than they are now.
Several concepts come to mind regarding ways to develop one’s self: mastery, practice, discipline, intentionality……..to name a few. All pertinent, for sure. But I want to focus on another principle: challenge.
Recent Olympic athletes will tell you that there is no way that they would have any endurance and success in their sports if it weren’t for challenge. They must push themselves, their muscles, their lunges….their entire physiology, constantly, in order to achieve the results that they do. And then there’s the famous chrysalis analogy….the butterfly has to go through the struggle of escaping the chrysalis in order for its wings to be strong enough to fly.
We know intuitively and by observation that this is true. So, why is this so hard for us to embrace when it comes to our own growth? Why do we shun challenge when it comes our way? Why do we sometimes sink into Challenge Aversion Syndrome (CAS)? There are at least several possibilities:
- Our natural aversion to pain and constant movement toward comfort and sometimes even indulgence
- The modern infatuation with speed and convenience in every aspect of life (i.e. fast-food, escalators)
- Belief that we can learn everything we need to know from a book or Oprah
- A general anxiousness and impatience
Don’t get me wrong; comfort, speed and convenience have their place. But when we seek only the easy path and refuse the “road less traveled,” we lose out on the opportunity to genuinely grow.
What could a professional challenge look like? It could mean addressing and staying in contact with a difficult peer or employee or learning something that’s not natural for you but beneficial to your role (i.e. for me that would be finance). And then, of course, there’s that new “stretch” role or project which you’ve been avoiding……..!
Maybe it’s time to strengthen your personal and professional resilience and defy your inner “CAS” by embracing and welcoming challenge. Just maybe, challenge is your friend!
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