How to Challenge Yourself?

The comfort zone, the routine and structure can be so appealing. But then I notice this human need we have to grow, to come out of our comfortable bubbles, to expand, to tap into our hidden potential and to experiment our capabilities.

In such a context, when you want to challenge yourself, you notice those strong feelings boiling up. They can be feelings of nervousness, anxiety, embarrassment, fear, worry and doubt.

It is normal to experience such strong feelings. At the end, we are humans. And it is not easy to experience our humanity fully and completely.

A good question to prob here is: How can I challenge myself while also experiencing those strong feelings? Well it is not easy but definitely doable. You experience the fear, doubt and anxiety and you do it anyway.

Let us say: You want to start a business. You are a total beginner. You have no experience. You are so eager and excited to start. But then you worry. What if you are not good enough? What if you fail? What if you do mistakes? What if it doesn’t work out? On and on the fear keeps rolling. With the fear and doubt, you consciously and intentionally choose to start with the fear and doubt inside you. You can’t eliminate those feelings or numb them. But what you can do is take action and do the next right move. In other words, you choose to take the driver seat and let your fear sit in the back seat.

By the way, you don’t need to go for the big moves. You can start small when challenging yourself. Just pick something you have been aiming to do for long time and go for it. Then you would see your self-esteem and confidence getting practiced and strengthened.