What about avoiding the challenge altogether?

@Scott – Yes!

@Kevin W – There will usually be another one to take its place then.

@hickchick – As a physicist type, I find that I often have to go back and fix problems that were overlooked or simply fugded by engineering types 😉 The point, though, was not to make things hard but two different ways of attacking the same problem. One could say that one approach is generally easier in the short term but costlier in the long term and vice a versa.

@hickchick – The problem with those is that the rarely take external costs into account. It is particular problematic if there is no subsequent accountability. In fact this was my pet peeve when doing research. Shoddy work that was just barely good enough to get published resulting in much wasted effort in going back and fixing things. Anyways, this is a whole other discussion.

Is this not the shortest post you’ve ever written?

When it comes to challenges, I always fall back on the Art of War. Challenges do make you stronger, but why are you doing it, just to become stronger, for yet stronger challenges planned? Or was it served up to you with no choice? In that case, you do what you have to, but don’t make it any harder than it needs to be. But if you’re choosing a challenge for it’s complexity/physical output, then immerse yourself completely in the experience to learn as much as possible.

But that’s me. 🙂

Depends on the challenge I guess. An especially arduous challenge I’ll probably be happy just to make it through, even if it means a few shortcuts.

A relatively minor challenge I might go out of my way to make more challenging.

I mean, if I’m climbing mount everest, I’ll bring oxygen, I think I’d be OK with that. But running a mile, yeah, I’d feel like I was cheating if I walked for a minute halfway through.

Either way, you’re out there trying to accomplish *something* — better than sitting in your living room reading the internet, right, even if you take a break at the halfway point?

@ denise – I thought the testosterone poisoning was just my imagination.

@ Jacob – I don’t really understand how asking someone to share their knowledge is lazier or less virtuous than reading. If you learn (big if I know) instead of copy, does it matter how the knowledge was acquired? For those of us that find it hard to make connections with other people, you might even say asking is more difficult because it forces you to practice the people skills.

I like to make the challenge easier by getting good information that will help me prepare facing upto it – the latest one was starting a garden. I had never done anything like that before, so I attended a workshop, started following some good bloggers and websites, went around town(even though I hate driving in traffic) to figure out where the supplies are available and now it appears it wasn’t such a beast and been learning new things every day! Another one was running long distances – 5K was a struggle, but I learned about the run-walk technique and went upto 25K!

Jacob, I understand what you’re saying and I think Scott is right to some extent–that people who challenge themselves to change or learn something new in order to overcome an obstacle and go beyond their ‘comfort zone’ generally come out of that being more self-reliant, learning more skills, and, most importantly, knowing they can learn what they don’t know.

But as someone who seems to have a knee jerk reflex to try to figure out the impossible situation just because it’s there, I’ve found that this kind of thinking doesn’t always work. I have to sometimes take a step back from the challenge and make sure it’s really worth taking this challenge over another. For example, say I lived far away from my work and I ‘had’ to either drive or bike 80 miles a day. I could either keep working out until I’m comfortable basically doubling my comfortable distance everyday (and likely get very caught up in that activity) or I could perhaps see about moving or getting a closer job etc.

It’s just a question of WHICH challenges. I’m all for the challenge, but sometimes there’s a really good, creative solution that’s nearly effortless! It’s crazy what’s sometimes available when you take a step back and look things over in another way. Then you free up your physical and mental energy to work on other things!

@tlblack is getting at what I was alluding to. Shirk-the-challenge vs. conquer-the-challenge is a false dichotomy, there’s also the option of deciding that the challenge is pointless.

Take the example of keeping an in-ground pool clean. You could hire someone to do it, or develop the skills and muscle power to do it yourself. Or you could decide to not have a pool in the first place. This third way seems in keeping with ERE principles.

@hickchick – Isn’t the protestant work ethic more about work being virtuous for its own sake? But yeah, I’m an addict when it comes to work. It’s going to be hard to shed—it isn’t just a cultural issue. My parents are the most hardworking people I know. They work as a hobby.

Jacob I think you have found the benefit to parables and other short pieces of advice. Scott seems to have interpreted your ideas well, but many other took their own interpretation and created something else entirely.
Mine was the question do you make challenges harder so you become stronger or do you find methods and develop skills so the challege becomes easier (ala Jayadeep)? Both are virtuous and better prepare you for more difficult challenges in the future.

I am the laziest person ever – where possible, I will take shortcuts, cut corners, etc. You don’t want me working at NASA!

Funnily enough, sometimes being lazy can reap benefits – I’ve found faster/efficient ways to get things done as a matter of necessity (to cater to my laziness).