Why Do Challenges Work?

Humans are hard-wired to be hyper-responsive to our environments. Charles Darwin, the father of evolution, argues that ‘the most adaptable survive’. This means that it’s highly advantageous to process what’s around us and reposition ourselves to fit better within it.

For that reason, the biggest lever we can pull to positively change our lives is to redesign our environment. Like a stick in a river, we unconsciously go wherever the river’s current is taking us. When we change the direction of the current in our favor, we go in a more favorable direction.

That’s why, one of the best things we can do for our personal development is take on a challenge. A challenge creates a certain environment that causes us to show up, take action, and make decisions differently. A challenge’s influence temporarily pulls us into a higher level of performance, and when done right, makes that newly discovered higher standard permanent.

Why is a challenge such a powerful fixture and tool for environmental design?

First, a challenge is time-bound. With a definite timeline, your mind can quantify the effort needed to fulfill the expectations you’ve set. So rather than rationalizing that a new habit or routine isn’t sustainable, you can get yourself to do it because your mind sees it as temporary.

Second, when you take on a challenge, it often involves some form of commitment. This makes us more willing to do things that are hard or inconvenient. We can rise above our emotions and act with more discipline. Making a commitment puts your integrity on the line and if you don’t make good on it, it suggests things about yourself that are painful to admit. So you follow through to prove those things wrongs.

Which leads well into the final element - A challenge welcomes competition. Competing brings out your most resilient, dedicated, persevering self. You’re less willing to make excuses and more consistent with getting the job done. This becomes even more powerful when there are leaderboards or gamification introduced into the challenge, because then you get to see your performance relative to others, which is motivating.

People show up differently in a challenge because the environment of a challenge brings it out of them. It creates the right conditions for real life-change and success.

And this is what I’ve seen from people taking over 1000 people through the 21 Day Super Habits Challenge. It’s a perfect storm of commitment, clarity, and competition that all come together to help you hold yourself to a higher standard for 21 days. It proves to you what’s possible when you really apply yourself, while building the foundation for a healthier, more focused, more productive life. 

If you know that you have so much more to give, and that you have so much more potential but you’re too inconsistent to make good on it, check out the 21 Day Super Habits Challenge. It’s the jumpstart you need to reach your next level.