Guidelines to a Good Challenge

Bicep curl challenge???

I am all about embarking on challenges personally and coaching others. My number #1 goal as a FITness/Success coach is to get someone to do and achieve more than they ever thought they could mentally just as much as physically. Challenges work for all types of people...


The person who has just not got it going and can't seem to get themselves off the couch and in the game.

The person that is consistently working but has fallen into a plateau and is resulting in a mediocre mindset and mediocre actions. 

The person that is always on the hunt for more. The person that is never satisfied and wants to continue to push the envelop of success for themselves and others. 

Challenges do one of two things:

A challenge can simply overwhelm you and defeat you. 


Or a challenge can make us feel alive, engaged, connected and fulfilled. 

To make sure you get the ladder results here are 5 guidelines to picking a Good Challenge.


1. Demand singularity of focus.
Focus is the key ingredient for achievement. You must have a mighty enough focus to demand our full attention and concentration in the moment. It must absorb us because of the demand our physical and mental presence it will take to stretch ourselves. The cause and purpose must be important enough to you and make you feel you must do it now. If the challenge is trivial or not time bound you would engage. 

2. Stretch our efforts and capabilities. 
We must go over and above our current abilities. I've remembered a quote I learned a few years back, "If you're not growing you're dying." This point is necessary for us to engage and grow. The mind only knows what we have done in our past. When we begin to do more and prove to ourselves we can do it. We are creating a new, improved more powerful person we've always wanted to be. 

3. The ability to score or measure your progress. 
As humans we know that if we are sacrificing to achieve a goal we must get something in return or what's the point. This point is important because you have to know how you are doing. You can't improve what you can't measure. Self assessments and getting an outside perspective of your progress is vital. Be sure your challenge has check in points to reflect, learn and troubleshoot if necessary. 

4. Allow for a sense of completion.
When we are in the thick of a challenge and we are sacrificing and pushing ourselves to grow a mandatory way to finish is to know there will be a payoff for all of our efforts. If you don't have a sense of completion or you will lose a sense of engagement. 

5. Allow a Sharing of Experience and Achievement. 
All humans have an inherent need to share our experiences. Talking about and celebrating how we overcame the challenge is vital for our psyche. It activates our right social brain. Especially when you can share in the journey, the fight, the stretch and experience with others. 



If you have competed in a GOOD Challenge in the past all of these were all at play. Now that you are aware of these components use them to craft your next challenge to raise yourself to your next level. 

WHICH OF THE 5 COMPONENTS HELP YOU SUCCEED THE MOST?