Embracing Challenges (6 benefits + 6 tips to overcome them)
I’m a freelancer, musician and artist who loves traveling and sets (perhaps) too many audacious goals. I mean, I want to do big things and make a big difference – but I don’t even have a permanent home address.
So embracing challenges has proved to be crucial for my sanity. And learning how to overcome challenges to goal achievement has actually made me happier.
Ultimately, in all my dabblings and failures, I’ve realized one simple truth: on the other side of focus, failure and the right mindset is usually more talent, skill and confidence.
I suppose the benefits of challenges could be summed up with that one sentence. But that’s not much of an article.
So let’s wrap up this small talk. Let’s explore the sweet benefits of embracing challenges and tips for how to overcome them – in whatever it is you’re doing.
Embracing Challenges: 6 Kick-Ass Benefits
Ah, challenges – not so bad!
Well, sometimes yea, they can feel kind of sh!#y. But if you push through, there’s some pretty epic benefits on the other side.
So let’s check them out.
1. You Foster A Growth Mindset
A growth mindset is an incredible asset. It’s a way of seeing the world and how you react to it.
Essentially, it’s the view that your skills and abilities are not set in stone. In other words, you learn and get better at anything.
It’s also closely connected with a creative mindset, which similarly approaches challenges from a growth perspective.
People with a growth mindset see challenges and setbacks as part of the process. They understand that growth is always on the other side of struggle.
So when it comes to challenges, what’s your mindset look like?
2. You Boost Your Creativity
Learning to embrace challenges head on means you’re problem solving and coming up with solutions.
This requires a level of patience, focus and oftentimes, creativity.
When you become comfortable with challenges and you start to embrace them, your mindset is really in a creative state. Because what used to be stressful is now seen as an opportunity.
Most problems have more than one solution. So getting familiar with overcoming challenges will make you more creative at finding and trying out different answers.
I’m definitely drawing a lot from my experiences and challenges in music production and songwriting here – but I’m confident that this idea of becoming more creative translates to most contexts.
Because overcoming challenges requires problem solving. And problem solving often requires creative thinking.
3. You Become More Motivated
They (you know, “they”) say that motivation follows action. Well, yea, it turns out that one’s true.
Rather than waiting for motivation, which is fickle, creating it is a way better strategy.
I used to wait for inspiration and motivation to strike before I finished my songs and art projects. This was a mistake. I rarely finished anything and I moved like molasses.
So one surprise benefit of getting into the routine of embracing challenges is having better control over your motivation – becoming more motivated.
4. You Become More Disciplined
Embracing challenges is hard. It takes focus, confidence and the right mindset. It takes discipline.
I think one of the biggest differentiators between reaching success (however you define it) and not is your ability to stick with things when it’s difficult.
After all, it’s easy to follow our passions when it’s easy. But learning how to stay focused and find solutions (or pivot, not quit) is essential to success.
5. You Become More Confident
Something happens when you find a solution to a problem – especially when that problem is at least somewhat vexing. You get confident. You feel on top of the world – if only for a moment.
With continued practice and continued problem-solving, your ability to overcome challenges becomes like second nature.
And the secondary confidence boosts start to become a new status quo. A new baseline framework from which you operate. Suddenly, you just know, “I f*ing got this.”
6. You’ll Be More Competitive + Adaptable
The sweet sweet fruits of embracing challenges are many. And perhaps one of the greatest benefits is becoming more agile and boosting your differentiation.
If something were easy, everyone would do it, right? Well, there may be some caveats, but for the most part – I say yes.
For example, it’s simple to be an armchair expert. You know, you watch all the YouTube videos and understand the theory like a pro.
But when it comes time to produce and do the thing, it’s like all your knowledge crumbles to a singular “what do now?” moment. Those challenging moments are opportunities to get better.
By pushing through and recognizing weaknesses and finding solutions, you’ll become more competitive in your niche and more adaptable to change (which they say is constant).
Ultimately, you’ll become more knowledgeable and experienced than any YT video could teach. You’ll uncover your unfair advantage(s) and you’ll stand out more.
So embrace them challenges – they’ve got some serious lessons to teach.
How to Overcome Challenges to Goal Achievement: 6 Kick-Ass Tips
Now on to some tips to overcoming challenges, so we can get closer to actually achieving our goals.
The ideas below are a collection of some of my favorites tips.
I’ve found these to be some of the most effective solutions for me to crush challenges – but of course if you’ve got any more tips, let me know in the comments!
1. Have A Scientist’s Mentality
If you’re trying to overcome a challenge, changing your perspective can help a lot. One of my favorite frameworks to operate from is that of a scientist.
Imagine your challenge is simply an experiment and the whole process of finding a solution is you in your lab. You’re testing and collecting data to see what works and what doesn’t.
This can put an objective and fun spin on things. Of course, there are other perspectives we can use here.
But here are some quick tips for reassessing and shifting your perspective:
Zoom out and consider the bigger picture
Turn your obstacles into a game
Be a scientist
Meditate
Practice gratitude and optimism
Stop comparing yourself to others
Focus on the present – ignore the past and future
Spend time around positive people
Volunteer or give back
2. Take On A Beginner’s Mindset
A beginner’s mindset is powerful – but can be (ironically) difficult. Case in point, my music and songwriting journey.
I started playing guitar when I was, I don’t know, like 10 or 11. From there, songwriting was always there – it was just more fun.
So fast forward to recent times, with over 2 decades of music experience behind me, and I’m suddenly finding myself a bit lost inside a computer trying to make the sounds that come so easily on a guitar.
Wait. I have to go back to music 101 to produce music on my computer? What about all my skills and knowledge, is it not enough!?
Hah. Well, turns out, there’s always more to learn. No matter your skill level, there will always be someone who knows something you don’t and there will always be a new tool or strategy that requires learning.
Having a beginner’s mindset controls over confidence and thinking you know it all. Because if movies, stories and foreshadowing have taught us anything, assuming you know everything is doomed to bite us in the ass.
So be confident – but not too confident all the time. Keep on learning and growing. And embrace those challenges with a smile.
3. First Principles: Break the Challenge Down Into Smaller Micro Goals
This is a pretty common piece of advice, but it works.
Breaking down large goals (and problems) into smaller parts is incredibly powerful. Really, we’re taking on a first principles way of thinking.
We’re understanding the individual pieces and components of a thing (or problem), to better understand how it’s made and how we can change it (or solve it).
Many leaders, like Elon Musk, various TedTalks and numerous others, have used this type of thinking to overcome challenges and innovate.
4. Reassess Your Approach + Strategy
Sometimes, we just need a new approach.
So step back and reassess what you’re doing. Imagine different solutions and try different ideas. It’s all about pivoting (or at least, knowing when to double down on something and when to pivot).
Try many different ideas to challenge and see what works best. Sometimes, the right approach is just one tweak away.
5. Step Away
Stepping away gives us a lot of clarity.
I do this all the time with songs, which can easily start to sound boring or uninventive after playing, editing, recording and writing them for days or weeks on end.
Stepping away gives us a sort of first impression experience. It gives us objectivity.
It’s similar to the value of asking for other’s feedback and getting fresh eyes on a particular issue (which is another great tip).
But here, the goal is to step away to the point you basically forget the details or nuances of the challenge. Then, you come back with a fresh perspective and new energy.
Oftentimes, solutions can reveal themselves with this approach.
6. Get Inspiration + Remember Your Why
Whenever I run into a wall with my songwriting (or whatever creative project I’m working on), one strategy that always breathes new life into my process is looking to my inspirations and remembering my why.
For example, when I’m feeling stuck and like a particular song I’m working on just sucks ass, I’ll listen to my favorite artists and pay close attention to their music production and the effects they’re using.
Often, I’ll remember that being simple is OK, or that bending rules with intention is perfectly fine. I’ll get motivated and inspired with new ideas that I could borrow and repurpose.
We’re all inspired by the people and things around us. I suppose that’s the great illusion of originality – is that most things are rarely ever 100% unique. We’re a culmination of our influences.
But we do add our own unique and original twist to things. That’s the beauty of creativity and doing – your voice eventually comes through, usually with little effort.
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