Maybe It’s Time To Stretch Yourself

Chicken Playing America the Beautiful

Things which are worth it, which are valuable, are rarely easy.

We have to stretch to get them.

Are you willing to make the extra effort?

It is easier to just stay where you are.

But if you want to get to a better place, staying where you are, doing what you currently do, and doing them the way you currently do them, won't cut it.

You will need to stretch yourself.

Most people don’t reach the levels they are capable of.

This is simply because they get comfortable too easily. They get comfortable too fast.

They are willing to do only so much, and no more! They find it impossible to find the time, to find the energy, to do anything more, anything extra.

But if you do find the time and the energy to do more, to do extra, you will find out what you are capable of.  And it is a lot more.

It is sweat equity which builds futures.

It may be exhausting, it may be challenging, but in the end, if you stretch yourself, you will find yourself in a better, more satisfying place.

I repeat, sweat equity builds futures.

If you look around you, you will see many people, who currently, are exactly where you are.

If it is a comfortable place to be in, few will try to get to a better place.

Years can pass, and you and them will be exactly in the same place.

You can keep the status quo.  It is your choice to live with it.

Or you can say goodbye to that comfortable place, to timid achievement, to settling, and you can stretch yourself.

Are you up to the challenge?

The tougher the challenge, the more miserable you will feel going through the experience of the challenge, but the prouder and stronger you will feel at the end of it.

In the prologue of Spartan Up,  Joe de Sena, reflects on participating in the Raid International Ukatak, an extreme sports event...

Here's what he says:

“An inverse correlation exists between how you feel during the race, and how you feel after it.”

De Sena felt like a million bucks after the Ukatak was over, but during the event, he was utterly miserable, frightened, and desperate, at many points.

He adds, “When you break through the other side of hell and finish an event that did not seem possible, that stopped you in your tracks, over and over, something happens.  You feel accomplished, incredibly proud of yourself, and in some ways, a different person”

You are guaranteed to feel this way after you tackle a challenge, especially a challenge which is extremely tough for you, which you think is currently out of your league, a challenge which you deliberately decide to tackle, because you don’t want to be a wimp anymore, and because you want to feel the accomplishment and pride Joe de Sena felt after finishing the Ukatak.

In order to stretch yourself, you have to replace your standard reactions to things which you think are beyond you – standard reactions such as getting frustrated, throwing up your hands, hating yourself for not being able to handle it.

The solution may be simpler than you think, the knowledge or expertise you lack, may be easier to acquire than you think.

Our default reactions are our own worst enemy.

They stop us in our tracks.

I know, because even now, my first reaction is to panic if something goes wrong – whether it's something at work, or something with my car, or something with my finances.

When I panic at work, Candice, my current boss, will say to me, “Minoo, take a deep breath”.

Wise advice.

The panic usually turns out to be a false alarm, or something easily correctable.  I think something is WRONG, but nothing is WRONG, or it is not as WRONG as I imagine it to be. 

I have mistaken the rope for the snake.

If you don’t watch out, you will be constantly mistaking the “rope for the snake”.  You will think that everything is the “end of the world” and furthermore, you are cursed, and it is only happening to you.

Frustration is a sign you need to stretch yourself.

Don't get frustrated by what others do, or don’t do, or the things that happen to you.

Stretch yourself instead, and find out what you are capable of. 

You never know what you are capable of. And you will never know, unless you make an effort to stretch yourself.

In the more recent years of my Commissions Analyst career, I have done Xactly implementations, written Varicent Functional Requirement Documents, written White Papers on Incentive Comp, found VBA to automate cumbersome Excel processes, done UAT testing, trained other commissions analysts on Varicent or Xactly processes, written Xactly and Varicent user guides, and created Commissions Process documentation at multiple companies.

Frankly, I did not know I would do any of this.

Interestingly, stretching yourself is sometimes just telling yourself to do something.

In several of my Commission Analyst assignments, I just told myself I should document the commission processes for the person who succeeded me.  I did not wait to be asked.

By doing this at multiple companies, I have gotten better and better at it, and furthermore, I have left a footprint at multiple companies, as a result of this documentation.

Your tenacity to tackle new challenges, overcoming the obstacles that confront you, will take you far.

By going from assignment to assignment, I have had the opportunity to observe the tenacity of several bosses.

From observing them, I have no doubt their tenacity to overcome obstacles is what has taken them so far in their careers.

It has been a privilege to watch them deal with all sorts of challenges and situations first hand – the challenges of losing a key resource, the challenge of managing with limited resources and tools, the challenges of dealing with management changes, company changes, role changes, resource changes, and the challenges of dealing with ever-changing demands and requests.

It is time to supersize your ambitions.

It is never too late to stretch yourself.

Replace frustration and whining, and seeing a lot of snakes which are ropes, with a new determination to stretch yourself, and get beyond where you currently are.

If a chicken can play America the Beautiful, surely you can stretch yourself, and get beyond where you currently are. 

As always, thanks for sharing my Journey to Wisdom, Meaning and a Better Life.  Like you I am trying to find my way through this complex maze we call life, and I am honored to have you share my journey...as I continue to keep seeking the wisdom which is hidden in plain sight.

Thanks to Ajay for his compliments on my last post, and thanks to the rest of you for your likes, pins, shares, tweets and votes…..much appreciated….M ……a Pearl Seeker like you. 

Happy Birthday to those of you with July birthdays.  Hope you use your birthday month to birth something new and wonderful in your life. By stretching yourself, you will definitely birth something new and wonderful in your life. 

Posts to help you on your journey…

Yoga for Investors – my personal investing philosophy, one that lets me sleep at night.

How Many Times a Day Do You Visit Ireland? – in which I tell you about what did more for my relationships than anything else. 

The Element of Becoming More Focused in Your Goals and Its Hope for Experiencing Powerful Results– where I let you in on how to approach a challenging medical condition.

The Making of a Menthalete – inspiration to help you become mentally stronger.

Connected Minds - in which you will learn about the many benefits of introducing a spiritual practice into your routine.