Challenge Value

Would you like to be more successful in 2024 than you were in 2023?

Here is one thing you (and I) can do to make it happen.

(There will be no newsletter signup or CTA at the end, so just bear with me.)

Do more things that feel challenging.

If you are like me, you have done FAR too many things in 2023 that felt like low hurdle stuff.

Not demanding, not frightening.

Just sidewards movement that neither pushed any needle anywhere.

The huge problem with these non-challenging tasks is that they use up our valuable time but don't bring us any further.

They are like a mirage.

They give us the FEELING of moving ahead, while keeping us stuck in place.

Why don't they help us?

Because by definition, only the challenging things can move us ahead significantly.

Now why is this again?

Simply because anything that is neither strenuous nor frightening can easily be done by anybody.

And if anybody can do it, it cannot contain significant value.

BIG VALUE always lies in the stuff that's not so easy to attain.

(Now, there's stuff that's difficult to attain, AND contains low value... we should most definitely skip that.)

But show me anything of value, and I bet it's not easily done by anybody.

Just writing this, I see that it calls for a matrix.

Let's call it the Challenge-Value Matrix.

(Possibly, there's already something like that. But I am in writing mode, so just share it in a reply, if there is.)

Back to the matrix...

Like any good two-dimensional matrix, it opens up four fields:

Low Challenge / Low Reward

High Challenge / Low Reward

Low Challenge / High Reward

High Challenge / High Reward

If you are like me, you have spent too much time in the "Low Challenge / Low Reward" field.

Now, it's not that this year was a disaster for me.

To the opposite. - It was really good by all means of measurement that I apply.

But still, I am appalled at how much of my precious time I have spent in the "Low Challenge / Low Reward" field in 2023.

Oh, I want to improve this in 2024.

Let's not whine and move on to the next field...

High Challenge / Low Reward

Now, what could that be?

This could be and task that is either strenuous or frightening, but doesn't bring us any further towards our goals.

E.g. if you took your first base jump in 2023 while having the goal of reaching your 73rd birthday some day.

Frightening for sure, but not helpful for the goal.

Now, if you are with me until here, the next question could be:

But HOW EXACTLY can I do that?

While I have no bullet-proof blueprint, here's what I would recommend for you and me in 2024:

Step 1: Sharpen your senses when you fall back onto the easy stuff

From my experience, it's like an automatic fallback mode.

Rather than focusing on the hard and challenging stuff or stopping, I tend to fall back onto some low-value easy stuff.

Because it feels best at that moment. It doesn't feel like not moving forward, at the same time it doesn't feel strenuous or frightening.

It's 100% comfort zone and possibly 98% being stuck.

By realizing when I am in that situation, I can take the first step to changing it.

Step 2: Either stop or do the challenging

When you and I realize that we tend to fall back onto the easy stuff, let's either stop or deliberately focus on doing something challenging.

That way, we automatically stay away from the dangerous middle-ground of doing low-effort, low-value stuff all the time.