These days are challenging, aren’t they?

I listened to pro-basketball Coach George Karl talk about facing a challenge. Throughout his entire career, he was hired to take bad teams and make them better.  Though he never once coached an NBA championship team, he was hired often enough and won enough to be the sixth winningest coach in history.

Here’s what he said about facing a challenge:

• “By its nature, challenge is hard!  If you don’t come to terms with the fact that it will take time, painful effort, and periodic disappointment as you progress, you will quit before the challenge is met.”
• “Believing you have what it takes to meet the challenge.  At some point, you have to face a challenge and meet it.  Once you do, you begin to develop a mindset that helps you embrace challenge as compared to shrinking from it.  The more challenges you take on, the more you will embrace those that come your way.  People who embrace challenge will soon be known for their courage and their competence.”
• “Challenges create learning.  You can rest assured that embracing a challenge will cause you to learn, improve your skills, and hone your intuition.”

In summary, embracing challenge is a process for life satisfaction. Don’t let the specter of a hard road deprive you of the promise of a meaningful, significant life.