Take a moment to think about all the times in your life when you took on a challenge. At the moment, maybe you felt a rush of fear. What if you failed? What if people thought you would never amount to anything? Thoughts such as these would have no doubt increased your level of worry and anxiety.

But then one finally arose that motivated you to take on the challenge anyway:

What if you succeeded and blew everyone's expectations of failure away, including yourself?

Though the choice to take on a challenge is not always for the admiration of yourself or others, this thought can help keep you motivated to take on a challenge.

Taking on challenges is more than a way to get kudos or build your self esteem and confidence. They are a way to expand your knowledge and help you learn about yourself.

What better way than to put yourself in a situation that makes you have to think fast in the moment, that pushes you to the limit to show you what you are really made of.

Under extreme situations people often discover things about themselves that they never knew existed, some things they are pleased to know, others they wish they could forget.

But, it is precisely those traits that are the most helpful. Those are the traits that are most likely the culprits to why you are not as far along in your goals as you would hope to be. They are the silent enemy within yourself holding you back, telling you that you cannot do something.

The knowledge of their presence is just the beginning of how to eradicate them from your life.