What are you doing to test yourself? How are you pushing yourself to greater things? In fact, ARE YOU doing this?

I have recently undergone HAZMAT Response training, wherein I (and my team) were trained to respond to the spill of hazardous, even deadly, chemicals. I mean, this was the real deal - we dressed in sealed space suits, we resolved toxic spill situations and for all intents, we saved lives. In the process, I found out what my associates were capable of, who "had my back," and when the chips were down who could be relied upon to act quickly, coolly and bravely in the face of a dire challenge.
This was very comforting and enlightening.

But it led me to wonder how many of us deliberately place ourselves in trying situations. I'm not suggesting that HAZMAT Response Training is the only answer, even if I think it would benefit anyone. But, ask yourself: "Am I forcing myself to do things that I am afraid of? AM I DELIBERATELY TESTING MY LIMITS AND TRYING TO REACH BEYOND THEM?"

If you are like most people - you are not. You move at a slow pace, you avoid risk and you look for the easy way to get somewhere. That is normal; it's what most do.

It's also why people don't leave the "dream phase" of their lives. We are told that we need to dream big, to be all we can be... but putting dreams into action requires us to often go into frightening territory. That part is left out of the promotional materials, somehow.

But it is this attribute, the willingness to face fears and challenges come what may, that sets the achiever apart from the dreamer. Every hero, every great and unknown success story, has this as an element of their life. Nothing was ever achieved merely by dreaming - it is the DOING that we remember. And while it may be fraught with dangers, real and imagined, it has to occur.

So again, ask yourself as you dream big, "When dreaming has run it's course, am I ready to face my fears, to sweat and to WIN?"