We interpret challenges in lots of different ways. Sometimes we call them obstacles, or risks, or some other word that describes a thing that we think is greater than what we can do right now.

If we must face the challenge, there are times it proves to us that we’re not ready … yet. And there are other challenges that pull the best out of us, things we didn’t know we were capable of before the challenge showed its face to us. All-in-all though, challenges are revealing. When we change our frame to look at them differently, we can learn a lot about ourselves and others. Taking a moment to reframe when things are tough can give you new eyes, new goals, and another gear to get after it.

Here are a few things that came to mind this month, thinking about “challenges”:

• Caroline Goyder is a voice coach and gives a TED Talk about The Surprising Secret to Speaking with Confidence. This is one of my favorites, stay with Caroline to the end. (19 min video)

• Inner game practices can help us do hard stuff. The Finns call it Sisu. Angela Lee Duckworth talks about grit and how it stems from a growth mindset. (5 min read, 6 min video)

• Lawrence Yeo drops this short essay on us about The Gift of Challenge, and this stands out: “If you don’t do what’s important today, you’re robbing yourself of the gratitude you’ll feel tomorrow.” (5 min read)

If you enjoyed this, subscribe below and we’ll send you something interesting every month.