Saturday, September 27, 2003

The value of challenge

Challenge is life’s way of making sure that you truly desire the things you achieve. Challenge is an excellent tool for keeping you focused on the things that really matter to you.

Imagine for a moment what it would be like to live in a world with no challenge. In such a world, you could obtain anything and everything with no need for effort, discipline or commitment. Does that sound like a great setup, with your every wish fulfilled the moment you think of it? Well, it might be nice for 20 minutes or so, but it would soon grow extremely tiresome. For such a world would literally overwhelm you with meaningless triviality. Sure, every wish would be instantly granted, but it would all be painfully empty.

The value of achievement is in the achieving, in the overcoming of the challenges, in the person you become as a result of going through the process. To have the reward without the effort is to have no reward at all, nothing but an empty and meaningless token.

Challenge is difficult, often painful, always demanding, and as such, challenge is what makes true value, beauty and fulfillment possible. Challenge can be tough, yet indeed it brings about the richness and fullness of life.

— Ralph Marston

Get on with it Even better next

Copyright ©2003 Ralph S. Marston, Jr. All Rights Reserved. The Daily Motivator is provided for your personal, non-commercial use only. Other than personal sharing, please do not re-distribute without permission.