The Crucible of Challenges

Happy Sunday everyone, I had a lot of fun writing this. Thanks for your eyeballs and attention, I appreciate it! - Paril

Corridors of Curiosity 005 — starts … NOW!

When I was in middle school, my English teacher conducted a reading program.

Students had to attain a certain number of “AR” points. “AR points” stands for “Accelerated Reading” — a fun way for teachers to challenge their students to read more!

These points were only obtained through the reading of books and passing an online test on the book. The easier books had fewer points and more challenging books offered higher point totals.

Once we obtained a certain point total, we were able to participate in the school field trip.

At first, this seemed like a tedious task. Reading books instead of playing video games? LAME!

At the time, I didn’t care for reading — but I wanted to go on that school field trip. Reading felt like such a chore!

So I begrudgingly picked up the easiest and shortest books. Junie B. Jones etc.

After completing about 3 easy books, my teacher asked me a question:

“Paril, why don’t you read a different book for your AR points? It seems like you are going for the easy books only.”

“I want to get the points for the field trip. I have to keep reading these books so I can reach the goal!” I replied, trying to avoid her eyes.

I knew I was taking the easy path to my AR Points. I did not want to accept that reality.

My teacher said “You can reach the goal by reading a more challenging book — remember the more difficult the book, the more points you get for reading it! And it seems like you only need 20 points for the field trip! You should try and get a book that is 20 points or more!”

As I searched the library for a book worth 20 points, I found myself getting frustrated by the challenge my teacher had put forth.

I didn’t even like reading, how would I manage reading a longer book?

It was extremely intimidating.

After haphazardly making my rounds throughout the library, I decided to ask my friend who liked to read a lot (he had surpassed the goal already, and was still reading just for fun. flexing on the rest of us!)

“You should check out the adventure/thriller fiction part of the library. I love those kinds of books, they are a lot of fun to read,” he told me.

My curiosity was peaked.

As I was scouring the library shelves, my eyes locked in on a book called:

“The Hunger Games”

I read the back cover and quickly realized that this book is filled with action and chaos.

And it was well over 300 pages and more than enough AR points for the field trip.

The challenge and curiosity had intersected, creating a focused young man who was going to stop at nothing to read through this new book.

The Crucible of Challenge refers to the sweet spot where a challenge becomes our own. We take on responsibility and hold ourselves to a standard to achieve the goal.

It is something personal to us, something that has intrigued the soul and inspired the mind.

It’s the voice inside of our soul telling us that we HAVE to take action on our goals.

The challenge must be scary enough that we could fail but realistic enough to attain with some solid effort.

This sweet spot is essential if we want to avoid burnout and make continuous progress.

Finding the Crucible of Challenge is a journey in itself. Over time we get better at it so don’t stress about being perfect. You’ll gain experience as you move through life, making this process second nature.

One thing though — you cannot lie to yourself. You definitely can’t lie to that voice!

It is hard to trick our minds and our souls, we know deep inside what we truly find valuable and meaningful.

We have to deflect and refrain from the “quick fix” mentality.

Remember, overcoming challenges is a part of life itself.

To run from challenge is to run from life itself.

So — how do we go about this? It is easy to fall into stress and anxiety when it comes to challenges, but we know that unhelpful on this path.

We want to feel powerful, focused, and have plenty of clarity — this gives us the best chance to not only overcome challenges but also gives us the enlightened perspective that will help us identify and crush any obstacles.

Also, we will begin to seek out bigger challenges — as a way of testing ourselves and our ability to level up. You do this without even realizing it! It is innate human nature.

It becomes a part of normal routine — life is still tough but we have unlocked the perspective that will lead to a great attitude while we deal with whatever challenges we encounter.

Some thoughts in bullet point format because my brain is feeling like it:

• Find your interests and curiosities. Be as specific as possible.

• Learn and experiment with different techniques or strategies. Be open-minded in this stage, once you identify how you're going to act/live — you can layer on habits and routines.

• What are your goals? Remind yourself of your why. (I am going to Target later on to buy a whiteboard to remind myself of my short and long-term goals. Let me know if you need something. ;)

• Set your standards of operation higher or lower depending on the capacity of your crucible. Be honest with yourself but avoid complacency!

• Ask for help if needed. You may have blindspots that others can help you identify. Being open to feedback is critical, don't get in your feelings about getting better.

• Stack success on top of success. We are human beings with responsibilities — start with a sustainable effort repeated over weeks. Then we can level up the effort as we gain confidence and momentum.

• Understand the concept of “Infinite Iteration” which simply states: that one can always improve on the previous version. (Be aware to know which areas of life are worth Infinite Iteration — not every area of life should be endlessly iterated.)

As I flipped through the pages of my book, I could not take my eyes off the words. My friend was right, I thoroughly enjoyed reading a book filled with action and meaning.

Hunger Games changed my perspective on reading. Reading wasn't something I “had” to do anymore, it became a fun way to spend my time.

I lost my way through high school and college, but now that I am older and wiser (just by a bit!) — reading has made a big impact on the last couple of years of my life.

I started reading books like “The Alchemist” and “The Obstacle is the Way” — these titles sparked my curiosity back when I wanted to build a habit.

After I overcame the challenges of reading those 2 books, I had the confidence, clarity, and focus to be able to read multiple books. With each book I read, I gained further confidence in my ability to understand and focus.

Then I started connecting dots from multiple books across genres and topics.

The improvement in my understanding, focus, and knowledge has led me to continue challenging myself.

(This newsletter is an example.) Newsletterception.

I became confident enough to share my writing with others.

I challenged myself to adhere to a weekly writing practice.

I challenged myself to create meaningful pieces.

I challenged myself to become a writer.

Now, here I am — 5 newsletters into my journey.

This is becoming easier — I am beginning to find a flow.

That means it's time to upgrade the challenge.

I have gained further capacity within my Crucible of Challenge.

I wish you luck as you explore your Crucibles of Challenge — tap into what truly matters.

Embrace the Chase

Paril Top Five List —Top 5 Colors

1. Blue

2. Powder Blue

3. Sky Blue

4. Midnight Blue

5. Cobalt Blue