When Is Your Next Challenge?

It is so important to challenge ourselves constantly. It does not matter what kind of challenge and to what degree you are challenged, the act of putting ourselves in slightly uncomfortable situations will condition our brain and body to build up resilience against stresses in life.

In one of my recent modules learning about counselling psychology, the term stress can be defined as any event or environmental stimulus (stressor) that we respond to because we perceive it as challenging or threatening.?This definition implies three aspects to stress.

1. We all encounter stressors—stimuli in our lives that we perceive as challenges or threats.
2. Our reactions to these stressors include bodily reactions.
3. By perceiving and then reacting, we cope with the challenges or threats, successfully or not.

In general, there are 4 types of stressors: Major life events, Catastrophes, Daily hassles and Conflicts. I would not go in-depth but if you are keen, you can read a little more here.

I guess another common word that we often hear similar to 'challenging ourselves' is 'stepping out of our comfort zones', and wisdom quotes like 'Growth happens outside the comfort zone', 'A ship is safe in the habour, but that's not what ships are built for', "Do one thing that scares you everyday'...

Just like we build up our body's immune system, the idea here is,

We want to build up tolerance for discomfort.

Whether it is physical stress (i.e. doing that 50th squat) or emotional/psychological stress (i.e. managing rejections), the path of self-growth usually involves short-term discomfort in the service of long-term benefits, aka, no pain no gain. Talking about how someone can be sprezzatura, it definitely comes with practice and does not happen overnight.

In the month of May, one of the challenges that I issued myself was to complete a cycling event - yes I only managed to learn how to balance on two wheels in 2021 and prior to that all my attempts at cycling were completely futile.

Routines may make you feel at ease and in control, but a constant routine?can also dull your sensitivities.?I'd like to take this week's reflection to encourage you to challenge yourself a little. And perhaps if you start viewing certain stressors in your life a little differently - that is a way of you levelling up, you will surprise yourself that you can cope better than you can imagine.

Becoming Irreplaceable?aims to empower fellow professionals to build sustainable and meaningful careers, this is definitely one way for us to increase our own happiness index! It is really about taking the control back.