The Transformational Effect of Challenge

Charting The Edges, Stripped Back, Emergence

“I believe people have innate evolutionary machinery that gets triggered when they go out and do really fucking hard things.”

- Dr. Marcus Elliot, The First Rule of Misogi: Don't Die

Curious

Charting the edges:

On October 9th, 2023, I put pen to paper on the big experiences I wished to create in the coming year. The Camino de Santiago sat atop the list, followed by another adventure two entries down — complete an ultra-endurance event.

As the months rolled on, I realised the list was overcrowded and that I’d need to get creative to fulfil most of what I set out. That’s when I began to imagine my own Camino.

Enter what I like to call a silly little idea, which was anything but little: Run 111 kilometres on November 11th for my 30th birthday.

When I made the event “official” in March, the furthest I had previously run was 27 kilometres back in July 2023. Shortly after, I had surgery and took a hiatus from running until January.

Safe to say, I wasn’t starting my preparation on the front foot, but with a concoction of naivety and curiosity in my system — 111 kilometres to mark the 11th of the 11th had a nice ring to it, so I was all in. Plus, I felt I had pissed away my athletic potential in my twenties, so this was a chance at redemption.

Note to self:

Sometimes, curiosity looks like choosing a challenge that forces you to seek out the edges of your potential.

One where you are operating in uncharted territory, with a real chance of failing. Not for vanity. In fact, for the opposite reason — to find what remains when your non-essential layers are stripped away.

An external force that requires you to go inward.

Conscious

Stripped back:

The big day arrived, and when I stepped outside at 4:04 am, the night sky seemed a little brighter than usual, partially because I was wearing a headlamp but mainly because I had chosen the inevitable uphill battle that was to come. As Matthew McConaughey rhythmically declares in his book Greenlights — once you know it’s black, it’s not near as dark.

I’d need a full post to cover all of the experiences I meandered over the next 15 hours and 111 kilometres, but in short, I got what I was looking for — the most stripped-back version of myself.

Note to self:

Challenges reveal how fears fade when you put yourself in a situation where you can fail. The punches of discomfort and difficulty come at you from every angle, but you are there, moving with the flow of whatever the challenge presents.

Ego falls away, and you discover what you are about.

Change

Emergence:

Live Free encapsulates freely expressing who you are, and one of the main constraints to doing so that I’ve witnessed in myself and others is placing irrational limitations upon yourself.

Arriving on the other side and looking back, I can confidently say that committing to challenging endeavours is transformational for your wellbeing and uncovering your latent potential.

When you dive head-first into a challenge that forces you to explore the perimeter of your ability and discover that it’s much further out than you once imagined — limitation loses its grip, old beliefs are erased, and a renewed version of you emerges.

Although the challenge I endured was physical, you don’t have to go that route. There are plenty of avenues to test yourself mentally and spiritually. Identify what you find meaningful and dive straight in.

I’m keen to chat with you about the challenges you’d like to explore — you can give me a shout here.

Live Free,

Niall

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Check out Hopes & Dreams. AOTTW #026

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