3 Great Ways To Challenge Yourself Everyday
People have a natural inclination to stay in their comfort zones. Even when you really want to experience new things or cultivate new skills, venturing into unfamiliar territory can feel daunting. Purposefully finding ways to challenge yourself is going to make you more willing to step outside of your comfort zone. Here are a few different ways that you should try to challenge yourself everyday.
1. Get In the Shape You Want To Be in
Your health should always be one of your highest priorities, so fitness is definitely one area of your life where you should strive for excellence. When you’re feeling good physically, you’ll feel ready to take on any type of new experience, and you’ll have the energy that you need to see your way towards the goals that you pursue.
If you’re not in the shape that you want to be in, it’s easy to become complacent about it. The discomfort that you associate with the prospect of making changes in your habits can outweigh your sense of dissatisfaction about not measuring up how you’d like to.
Resolving to make changes isn’t the hard part about improving your health and building strength. It’s actually making changes and staying committed to them. To hold fast to your resolution to get fitter and stronger, begin an immersive program like 75 Hard.
What is 75 Hard and who can do it? It’s a rigorous training regimen that will put your strength and endurance to the test. You don’t have to be a world-class athlete or bodybuilder to begin such a difficult training initiative, but you need to be prepared to put a lot of work into it. Regardless of your starting point at the time you begin the program, your physique and stamina will be transformed when you finish it.
2. Learn a New Language
One of the biggest reasons why it’s tough to make changes in your life is that your brain is accustomed to thinking in a certain way. The thoughts and feelings that neurotransmitters relay create a beaten path, and it’s much easier for your brain to take the beaten path than the road less traveled. Making it a point to learn new things everyday is going to facilitate improved cognitive flexibility. You’ll have a broader and more objective vantage point when you navigate a new situation or troubleshoot a problem. .
Learning a new language is a great way to equip yourself with a different mode of thought. Language is a guiding force in how people process information, so redefined phraseology is going to give you a new way to think about things.
Of course, learning to speak a foreign language is no easy feat. Being consistent about studying and practicing will be crucial to attaining conversational fluency. Consider taking a course online. A structured course can help you stay engaged in what you’re learning.
3. Work on Breaking Habits That Hold You Back
Challenge yourself to break bad habits, and you may surprise yourself. Begin by identifying the routines or behaviors that are negatively affecting you. You don’t necessarily have to take on every one of them all at once.
One of the best ways to break a particular habit is to replace it with another one. By swapping out one behavior with another, you’ll feel less of a void without that fixture in your routine.
If you’re prone to stress-eating, for instance, sit down to do ten minutes of meditation whenever you feel a stress-driven impulse to reach for something unhealthy. If you continually find yourself stuck scrolling endlessly on social media feeds, be conscientious about choosing another activity to do instead of reaching for your phone. Opt for tasks that are satisfying to accomplish such knocking a couple of household chores off your to-do list.
Ultimately, seeking out challenges and becoming more adaptive can enrich your life considerably. You’ll thrive in situations that you otherwise might not. You’ll also learn more about your character and capabilities.
