The problem with challenges is that they’re challenging

Responsibility and being needed aren’t just things that society tries to convince us we should have because it’s morally virtuous. They’re things that keep us alive, purposefully active, and connected.

An Ellen Langer study of nursing home residents created 2 groups. One group was encouraged to make decisions for themselves – where and when to receive visitors for example. They were given a houseplant to look after. The other group were equally as looked after but were not offered the responsibilities. They were given the houseplants but told not to worry about them and that they would be looked after for them. The mortality rate of the group with added purpose was half that of the other group.

Our body & mind get used to a constant amount and grade of workload. You do not build muscle by lifting the same weight over and over again. The entire basis of progressive resistance training is that, as your body does get used to workload, you increase the workload. The body adapts. Our physiology is set up for this.

Nassim Taleb in his book ‘Antifragile’ writes about how just as human bones get stronger when subjected to stress and tension, many things in life benefit from stress, disorder, volatility, and turmoil. What Taleb has identified and calls antifragile are things that not only gain from chaos but NEED chaos in order to survive and flourish. I think, to a degree, your entire life is one of those things, as long as you get to initiate and control the chaos. Rather life on a rollercoaster than a conveyor belt.

The problem with challenges is that they’re challenging, but your self-selected challenge doesn’t have to be dangerous or big. If you’re right-handed, spend some time attempting things with your left hand. Rearrange your kitchen cupboards so you’re operating less out of habit. Tackle a foreign language. Zelensky seems even more hardcore in his original Ukrainian.

I’m no expert on geo politics. I know some things about leadership development. A graph of Zelensky’s life and career is no straight line; it was a roller coaster. No one could be prepared for what he is leading but he never got stuck in a rut or settled for a comfort zone. That he won Ukraine’s ‘Dancing With The Stars’ in 2006 may seem silly or irrelevant but he put himself out there. Now, he is REALLY putting himself out there. His mindset did not start the day he got the job of ‘legend’.

None of us are ever going to find ourselves in anything close to his situation. But if you want to effectively lead a family, work team, or community, that doesn’t start the day you get the job. We have to work out our ‘change muscles’ ahead of time. We need to test ourselves so we’re ready when life tests us later.

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