Maybe because we're in the midst of a chilly blast here in the Goulburn Valley and the sky is grey outside, I'm wondering if there's a point where a challenge can go bad. Two things come to mind.
The first comes directly from running and relates most closely to it. I've now completed three marathons (Shepparton, Melbourne, Great Ocean Road) but don't think I'll be able to do a fourth. One of my knees is a bit problematic and when I staggered over the finish line in the third one twelve months ago, I was pretty certain that the joint wouldn't be able to manage another. On one hand, I'm kind of OK with that because I've since fallen in love with the half-marathon distance and find I'm able to discover new and exciting challenges of speed in that distance. Certainly, being able to aim for a PB with some chance of hitting it is an intense pleasure that's harder to get with the near-pure endurance of the marathon distance. But, I find myself missing the knowledge that I'm part of that special breed of runners who are regular marathoners, and to have another shot at that challenge almost seems worth risking totalling my knee for.
The second is that challenges can be destructive if your reach always exceeds your grasp. Regular readers will know that I went to one of Victoria's most competitive schools. The competition there became especially intense in your final year, when your final score and university placement are at stake. The challenge set before students was to achieve the perfect score of 99.95, and it was expected that no effort, and almost no waking moment, should be spared in that endeavour (I do not exaggerate when I say that a score of between 98.00 and 99.00 was viewed as very second rate, and my final score - 96.95 - was seen as positively contemptible). In this case, the challenge - a goal almost unattainable - was positively destructive because it inculcated into many of us (including me) a dangerously black-and-white, perfectionistic, fault-finding view of ourselves. It's taken me a long time, and a lot of failures (for which I'm actually somewhat grateful), to get that habit of thought under control. Perhaps challenges should be treated as equally about the journey as the goal.
On the whole, I think that any challenge maybe needs to be undertaken with one eye on St Paul's admonition:
Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.
If a challenge is making you a person who could not use that description of yourself, it's a strong suggestion it's leading you astray.
Great post! I tend to push myself really hard. I try to stay reasonable with my challenges, though. But my husband keeps asking me when enough is enough. I"m not there yet...
ReplyDeleteThanks for linking up! An injury led me to stepping down from the marathon distance as well, and I've learned to embrace the half and shorter distances. Occasionally, there's still a yearning to run another marathon.
ReplyDeleteThe school you attended sounds daunting. I can't even imagine that much pressure...