Finding a challenge

For a long time I used to say that I'm the kind of person who thrives on being busy. While that is definitely true, it's not the full picture. What really excites me isn't so much having things to do, but being challenged while I'm doing them.

I think for a long time I didn't really recognize that distinction. Just because you're busy, even if it's to the point of being stressed because there aren't enough hours in the day to accomplish everything on the to-do list, doesn't really mean there's a challenge involved. Time management is a fact of life, not an activity in its own right.

What I've also come to realize is that, while I love a challenge, I'm terrible at challenging myself. I need to be accountable to someone or something, or at least have someone pushing me.

This is why I loved being in school. Aside from the obvious fact that I wouldn't have been able to teach myself all the things I learned, I wouldn't have had the motivation to do it anyway. Having to study to pass tests and be prepared for class discussions was just the kind of external push I need in my life.

This is also why I love playing in a volleyball clinic every Tuesday night. After 13 years of playing there's still a ton I have left to learn, both strategically and physically. Getting to work with a coach and a ton of other really talented players makes me become better at the game because I have no choice. This week we focused on diving. While I certainly could have looked up instructional Youtube videos on how to dive for a volleyball and started rolling around on my kitchen floor, there's no way I realistically ever would have done that. There's also something really gratifying about getting banged up from launching yourself at the ground in a sport that's usually pretty contact-free.

It doesn't even have to be anything big. There was a period of about 2 weeks when Dan used to email me links to Wall Street Journal articles and asked me what I thought of the issues at hand. Even though I still don't know why he started doing that (or why he stopped? What happened, yo), I liked that I was being forced to think critically and even do some research about topics ranging from free trade to Sun Chips. This is also why I'm happy that I now have a book club in my life. Ordinarily I would just read a book, finish it, and move on. But having to discuss it with Lacey and others makes me take the time to think it through a little more and to develop opinions beyond "I liked it" or "I hated it."

As examples of how much I suck at motivating myself, things I have been terrible at following through on in the past include: learning to speak Spanish, learning to play the guitar, learning to solve a Rubik's cube. And probably a million other things.

The question now is how I go about incorporating more people into my life who challenge me and help me grow as a person. Thoughts?