Hi! I'm Marie
You have gifts to share with the world and my job is to help you get them out there.
Read MoreHeading
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Suspendisse varius enim in eros elementum tristique. Duis cursus, mi quis viverra ornare, eros dolor interdum nulla, ut commodo diam libero vitae erat. Aenean faucibus nibh et justo cursus id rutrum lorem imperdiet. Nunc ut sem vitae risus tristique posuere.
Button TextHonestly, I was nervous.
A few author friends told me about their experiences on book tour. While I heard about beautiful moments, I also heard words like “grueling” and “exhausting” and “intense.”
So I made myself a promise that before I went on book tour for Everything is Figureoutable, I’d challenge myself to get as healthy as possible. That included building up physical strength and stamina. (My workouts had taken a backseat while writing the book.)
My strategy? Take near-daily group fitness classes at the gym. To say that my first few classes were humbling is a laughable understatement. But before we talk about my puke-worthy performance, let’s dive into what it means to challenge yourself.
Why Is Challenge Good? It’s Not For The Reason You Think.
Many of us say we want to challenge ourselves to grow but, at the same time, we’re terrified of looking stupid. I mean, who wants to appear weak or incompetent — especially in front of others? No one.
But here’s the thing. Being uncomfortable and doing things that are hard, unfamiliar, and outside of your skillset is the very definition of how to challenge yourself. The *only* way you’ll ever grow stronger is if you step beyond what’s easy and familiar. You must intentionally put yourself in uncomfortable, uncertain territory. In other words, you need to hop on that struggle bus ASAP!
But here’s an even bigger reason why you should challenge yourself.
Hitting your goal is far less important than who you become in the process of working towards it. The biggest benefits of challenging yourself are the mental and emotional strengths you build along the journey, including: focus, discipline, determination, resilience, humility, and faith.
Let’s be clear. Riding the struggle bus doesn’t always lead to first place trophies or world domination. And yes, the space outside your comfort zone is awkward and humbling. You will likely fall on your face. Yes, you may even faceplant (more on how to deal with the fear of failure here).
But if you want to experience greater growth, higher satisfaction, and lasting fulfillment in life, challenging yourself is the way to go. In today’s MarieTV, I’ll challenge you to answer a counterintuitive question that proves easier isn’t always better.
.gif)
listen to this episode on the marie forleo podcast
Subscribe to The Marie Forleo Podcast
View Transcript
In this episode of MarieTV, we do have some adult language. So if you do have little ones around, grab your headphones now.
Marie Forleo: Hey, it’s Marie Forleo, and you are watching MarieTV, the place to be to create a business and life you love. And this, my friend, ain’t Q&A Tuesday. It’s actually You&A Tuesday, where I ask the question and the answer comes from you.
Group: It’s time for You&A Tuesday!
It’s time for You&A Tuesday. It’s You&A Tuesday where the answer comes from you.
Marie Forleo: So, my question, which I will ask you in just a moment, comes from an idea that I strive to live my life by, and that idea is this: you never get stronger if you only do easy things. Now, to clarify, I’m not saying that you should make everything harder on yourself. I am all about simplicity and efficiency where it makes sense. This is also not about pushing yourself so hard that you get injured or sick. But what I am talking about is the immense value that comes from doing really, really hard things, from putting yourself in situations where you know you’re going to struggle, or from doing things that are so far beyond your current skill set that it humbles your ass.
Let me tell you about a class I took a few months ago. So, I was working to build up my strength and my stamina because going on book tour can be grueling, and I wanted to be ready for it. Now, I talk a lot about fitness and movement, and I am someone who moves a lot. However, it’s been a real long time since I’ve been a Nike dance athlete, and could shoot like four fitness videos in one day, even with a broken toe. So, point being, my strength was nowhere near what it used to be. So, I figured I’d start taking more challenging classes at my gym.
Now, most of these classes I had never taken before. So, I had no idea what I was getting into. So, one day I signed up for this class, and it was called Metcon 3. I should have known better because that is a scary-ass name. But it was only 45 minutes, and I said to myself, “Hey, I can do anything for 45 minutes.” Famous last words! Not even seven minutes into that class, I wanted to die! I’m not kidding. I had no idea how I was going to survive 38 more minutes of this torture chamber. We are talking nonstop squats, and lunges, and plyometrics, all with weights and all on a damn step. You know how everybody hates burpees? Well, this guy had us doing double burpees. Then he had us doing these fricking air jacks. And one guy in the front of the class, he was like the happiest, most fittest grasshopper you ever met. He was smiling, he was sweating, he was leaping. Meanwhile, I can’t feel my legs, and I need to sit down.
I think you get the idea. I mean, this was hell! It was that kind of physical, humbling hell that you wouldn’t wish on your worst enemies.
Devil: Yes! That’s right, 10 more curtsy squats!
Marie Forleo: But somehow, I made it through the full 45 minutes. And yes, I was on the struggle bus the entire time. But of course, after, I felt amazing!
Nuh-uh. I didn’t feel amazing at all. I had a massive headache, I was red as a lobster, and I seriously wanted to quit at life. But after I took a shower, and replenished some electrolytes, and actually laid down for a few minutes, I actually did feel pretty great.
The bottom line is this: easier, my friends, is not always better.
Now, obviously, this story was all about working out. But I’ve found the same thing to be true in my business and in my personal life. Doing hard things makes me stronger. Whether it’s physical, emotional, or mental, strength is where it’s at. And I’ve got to say, no matter what hard thing you’re doing, whether or not you actually reach your goal is less important than who you become in the process.
So, here is the Q that I want you to A today, and it’s a two-parter:
Think about your past right now. What’s an instance where you tackled something really challenging, and you grew so much stronger as a result?
Part two: what’s one hard thing that you know you need to start doing right now in order to make your life better?
Tell me all about it in the comments below.
Now, as always, the best conversations happen over at marieforleo.com. So, get on over there and leave a comment now. Once you’re there, be sure to subscribe to our email list, and become an MF Insider. You’re going to get instant access to an audio I created called How To Get Anything You Want. It’s so good. You’ll also get some exclusive content, special giveaways, and personal updates from me that I don’t share anywhere else.
Stay on your game, and keep going for your dreams, because the world really does need that special gift that only you have. Thank you so much for watching, and I’ll catch you next time on MarieTV.
Once you’ve had a chance to watch, I’d love to hear from you. Today’s question has two parts:
- Think about your past. What’s one instance where you tackled something really challenging and you grew stronger as a result?
- What’s one hard thing you know you need to start doing now in order to make your life better?
Share as much detail as you can. Hundreds of thousands of souls come here for insight and inspiration. Your story may be just what someone else needs to have a major breakthrough.
Important: please share your thoughts and ideas directly in the comments. Links to other posts, videos, etc. may be removed.
Thank you so much for reading, watching, and sharing your point of view. I hope you’ll join me on the struggle bus so we can challenge ourselves (and laugh at ourselves) together!
P.S. Have you saved your spot in the FREE Everything is Figureoutable coaching program I’m launching this fall? Click here to learn more and register before September 10th.
With SO much love ❤️,
XO
View Comments
