Hi First name / friend,
 
16 years ago, I discovered hot yoga. I was 22 at the time, and I'd just graduated from college and had turned the car around on the way to grad school. 🤦🏼‍♀️
 
During this time, I was working in the radiology department as an intern because I had randomly decided to go back to school to explore pre-med and become a doctor.
 
I was tasked with researching eosinophilic esophagitis.
 
Yeah.
 
The reason why you've probably never heard me talk about this, is because I only lasted one quarter, and I flat out walked out of my physics final.
 
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That was enough for me.
 
But back to hot yoga... 
 
Besides the fact that I didn't quite fit in because I was wearing J.Crew yoga pants instead of Lululemon which was just starting to infiltrate the US with their pop-up showrooms…
 
I loved everything about it.
 
So much so that throughout the years, I've kept in touch with my favorite teacher, Heidi, from this class. 
 
(I even interviewed her when I decided to start my own business to see if I wanted to start a yoga studio like hers in London. The moment she told me she sometimes had to clean toilets, I knew it wasn't the business for me.)
 
Since then, she's gone on to open up her own studio that happens to be 10 minutes from where I live so I've been able to go regularly since moving back to Ohio.
 
Now here’s the thing about her class…
 
It’s so hard, and so hot and so sweaty that I almost throw up every time.
 
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I push myself. 
 
I give into the challenge. 
 
I love how everyone is packed in there with their yoga mats just an inch apart.
 
For those 60 minutes, I become a temporary Eminem fan and drink as much coconut water and electrolytes as I can so I can make it through.
 
Doesn’t that sound horrible when you read it? It does to me.
 
But I love this class. And even though I’ve lived all around the world, this is the best one I’ve ever found. 
 
And as you can imagine, it’s not just about the environment, it’s about the teacher too.
 
You see, Heidi is special. She somehow knows every single person’s name. She makes an announcement when you come back to town (she did this for me during my first class) and makes the whole experience memorable. 
 
Although you’re hot, sweaty and about to pass out, she makes you want to be there.
 
She changes the way you think about how hard the class is.
 
She actually makes it fun.
 
Why am I telling you this?
 
Because for whatever reason, I look at this class and its level of difficulty with extreme positivity. 
 
I literally throw myself into the challenge. I crave the challenge. I get up at 5am for the challenge.
 
And yet there are so many areas of my life where I resist the challenge. 
 
Especially in business. And sometimes in life.
 
Maybe for you, challenge = bad. 
 
You avoid it.
 
And instead of looking at the challenge as an opportunity to grow, you’re allowing it to stunt your growth. 
 
You make it mean that you've taken a wrong turn or you're not good enough.
 
And you stop.
 
You hold yourself back because you don't want to be seen as anything but perfect instead of going all in regardless of the outcome. 
 
And maybe you don't even want to look at your big desires and goals because you know they're not going to be easy.
 
Ring any bells?
 
I get it…we want to be good at everything. We want it to be easy. We think we're doing something wrong if it's not.
 
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But the truth is, there's nothing wrong with you. And sometimes, things are meant to be hard!
 
Most likely, you're just new. Or still building up your muscles (both literally or figuratively). Or you're being prepared for something.
 
Probably all of the above!
 
But First name / friend…
 
What if challenge is a good thing…?
 
I listened to Kevin Hart's book I Can't Make This Up: Life Lessons a few years ago and recorded a podcast episode on it. 
 
His belief is that the bigger the challenge, the bigger the thing that you're being prepared for…
 
He writes, “Sometimes the path that you're on provides you with additional training in the form of challenge that is essential to your next level of success. And so what if life rejecting you right now is actually preparing you to win?"
 
I've chosen to adopt that mindset.
 
For example, the last two years have been hard. I actually just recorded three episodes yesterday for the podcast that will be released in the next few weeks sharing some of what I've been through and more importantly, how I've moved through it. 
 
All I can say is that there must be something pretty big around the corner!
 
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So how to we overcome this aversion to challenge?
 
One of the exercises that I love to do involves looking back at my previous challenges and seeing what I've learned from them.
 
So today, I want you to do the same.
 
Maybe you had a business challenge or relationship issue or even health scare. Literally list them out and go through them one by one.
 
What positive can you see in that experience? (Even if it was 1% positive.) Was there anything you learned? Did you grow? Did it prepare you for something else?
 
And then take that memory into your present day challenges to remind yourself that what you're experiencing is also happening for you.
 
Disclaimer: This may not happen overnight. You're going to have to reprogram your mind to see challenge as a good thing. It will naturally want to see it as negative until you practice this regularly. But having different examples at your disposal to pull from from the past, will help you shift quicker each time!
 
And maybe, you'll even start to feel grateful for the challenge and embrace it.
 
And recognize that it's probably giving you something you need in the future.
 
And finally, to complete the exercise, ask yourself how embracing the challenge will transform the experience for those around you. Like Heidi, for me. The fact that I actually want to go to the hard yoga class. 
 
You changing your perspective on challenge is going to free others. Maybe it's your employees, spouse or kids. They will no longer feel the need to be perfect or shy away from challenge.
 
Remember, the bigger the challenge, the bigger the gift on the other side.
 
You've got this.
 
Speak soon!
 
Emily
 
P.S. I also recorded a podcast episode with the incredible Alexi Panos where we talked all about challenge. She's someone who loves challenge so I knew I had to ask her about my own aversion to it (at the time). Click here to listen to it.
 
P.P.S.If you enjoyed this email, I'd love to hear your thoughts. Hit reply and let me know if you liked it / anything stood out / if you've ever been at a crossroads like this. If this was your first newsletter and you made it all the way through, I'd love to hear that, too. 
 
 
 
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