“If you are irritated by every rub, how will your mirror be polished?” – Rumi

We humans are funny creatures.  We are capable of great things when challenged, but we hope we’re never challenged.  We are incredibly creative and resourceful when we’re trying to solve difficult problems, but we hope we never have difficult problems to solve.  It’s as though we hope to make it through our lives without ever really doing our best work, always seeking the path of least resistance.

Those who have the biggest impact don’t think that way.  Think about athletes, for example.  Those who we remember as all-time greats, those who accomplished incredible things, didn’t think to themselves, “Boy, I hope I’m never in a big situation and have to make a great play to win the game.”  They wanted to be in those big situations.  They wanted to have a chance to make the play to win the game.

The same must be true of leaders.  The best leaders don’t think to themselves, “Boy, I hope I can show up for work tomorrow and just surf the internet all day because there are no challenges.”  The best leaders show up for work wanting to tackle the stuff that’s hard.  They want to have an impact – on the organization, on its people, and on the communities it serves.

Back to the athlete example:  those all-time greats also didn’t show up for those great moments having never practiced or prepared.  They spent hours – years – preparing their minds and bodies for those moments.  And when those moments came, they were ready.

That must be true of leaders as well.  Leaders can’t coast along and then suddenly be prepared when difficult challenges arise.  Leaders always have to be self-assessing, thinking about where they need help, what they need to learn, what they need to work on.  Otherwise, when those challenges come, the leaders won’t have what they need – mentally, physically, or emotionally – to succeed.

Look in the mirror.  Are you preparing for, and then seeking out challenges?  Are you looking for ways to make an impact?  Are you pushing yourself and your team towards constant growth?

Or are you hanging back, trying to avoid the hard stuff?  Do you get frustrated whenever you have to push a little harder than is comfortable?  Are you trying to get by doing the easiest things possible?

Prepare for challenges and then seek them out.  Hiding from them doesn’t mean you avoid failure.  It means you already found it.