Daunting Challenges

Have you ever done something on a dare?  Do you remember when you were on the school playground, someone would say, “I dare you!” or “Double dog dare you!”  And just because of the dare, you’d follow through or at least attempt the challenge because you felt like you’d lose your credibility with all your peers if you didn’t succeed?

I suppose most all of us have taken this kind of challenge at one time or another.  What’s can be really scary is when these dares are taken by adults.  These are often much more dangerous than those challenges we faced as kids.

Around Thanksgiving I kept seeing posts from friends who had the challenge of writing three things everyday for which they were grateful.  I’m reasonably certain I could do this one, even though I’ve never actually tried!  But this idea made me wonder about other challenges, even more daunting ones.  

Just before New Years many of us make resolutions and sometimes these can be daunting and we end up throwing in the towel after only a few days!  The hardest kind of challenges are those we make to ourselves because these are promises we think no one else knows.  Unless we make them known, if (or when) we give up, we have only ourselves to convince it’s okay.  

A friend of mine recently decided he would no longer, under any circumstances use bad language.  This can be a challenge if bad language has been a part of someone’s vocabulary for many years. There are other vices which can overwhelm the best of us, if we aren’t committed with a definite plan to overcome, like drinking, gambling, porn or abusive behaviors.  Sometimes even pampering ourselves can be a challenge!

I read the story of the teacher who asked her students to write seven natural wonders of the world.  Now I assume it’s what they’ve been studying, so the class should have been at least somewhat prepared for the task set before them, but still for a young child, I think this would be challenging. I know the Great Pyramids are on that list, the Grand Canyon, the Northern Lights, and Victoria Falls, depending on which list you choose from.

Apparently, however, one little girl took a completely different perspective for the challenge before her.  She chose to name five of the wonders of our five natural senses; our eyesight, touch, hearing, tasting, and smelling abilities. 

I’m working on a special needs book series for children and am awed by the challenges some of our young children face on a daily basis! A child who deals with Muscular Dystrophy, Down syndrome, hearing loss, autism or a hundred other diseases, understands a challenge! Not only is dealing with the disability challenging, but also the bullying, ridicule and ostracism they receive from their peers. 

Challenges are only as daunting as we allow them to be.  So I challenge you to reflect on your life.  Is it filled with daunting challenges?  Do you view your circumstances difficult, at best, and believe you may never overcome?  Or, are you like the little girl who when challenged with naming great wonders of the world, considered our natural senses as “wonders” to be acknowledged? 

I’d be honored if you checked out my books at www.margieharding.com (click on the ‘books’ tab) or find my books on Amazon.

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