...and one more important note I´ve got for you. Please, dont do a basic mistake. Do not compare yourself with the others. Your´ve got your own pace and your own path!

What´s the success for you, might be nothing for the others! If something makes you happy, joyful, relaxed, just do it, and do it often!

"Challenge" is a big, yet abstract word. It might mean very different things for everyone. I will try to explain what challenges I had faced or wanted to face. They´ve brought me to where I am now and, to be honest, I am so thankful for them! But, of course, you always know it and appreciate much later.

Traveling alone - It´s seems effortless now, however it did not use to be like. It takes one´s courage to step out from the comfort zone and go abroad alone. You might see many obstacles on the way and I´m not gonna lie, they are there. However, you start step by step. You might firstly go somewhere near the border, by car/bus or train, for one day, and observe, what´s actually challenging and what scares you the most. You minimalize those things and gain more confidence. You get to know how to book an accommodation and locol public transportion, where are the places to eat etc. And once your´re ready, you can go book a flight and explore more! Benefits? You are independent. You no longer have to wait till your friends are free, you plan everything according to your needs and wishes. You simply stop making a compromise. Also big plus is that you´re with alone with yourself and have time to think some things through. 

Go and study abroad - traveling alone for few days/weeks is already piece of cake for you. But what about the whole half a year abroad? It was actually my first bigger challenge of my life. You must have big motivation that outweight the negative aspects like being homesick, missing your family and mom´s meals, your routine and comfort zone, your city and friends. Nevertheless, the are countless benefits, that you´ll be taking an advantage of and might change your life or at least point it the right direction - language skills improvement, to explore new place, to make new friends, you gain self-reliance and independency, higher chances to succeed at the job market, to start traveling and many more!

Stop pleasing everyone, go on your own - that used to be my way. As I´ve been always extrovertic, surrounded by people and also very active and eager to do many things, I was often asking my friends out to do these things - to travel with me, to go to the theathre, to go hiking, to do some sport, whatever. And it happened manytimes they couldn´t go or didn´t want to and I ended up sitting at home, feeling down and sad. It wasn´t their fault, it was kinda mine. It took me 2-3 years to realize, that there is no one waiting for me and that I should change my mindset. If someone wants to do something, he/she will tell me.  Because you know what? The time will pass and you´ll never be as young as you´re now! You might also never have that time, mood, money or whatever and the only thing you can do is to regret you did not just go alone! Of course, there are things one must or wants to do with someone (to share the feelings, team sport s etc.). So don´t get me wrong, I still do multiple activities with my friends. However, I do not wait if they can´t. So, it´s been already some time I do not hesitate and go to the theathre alone, I make a trip abroad alone, visit concert or do a hike. Because these things make me happy and I simply want to do them.

Learning to draw - If you knew me, you´d know that I had never been able to draw more than a sun or a tree. I got always the lowest grade from painting in elementary school and everybody knew I´m not gonna be the next Picasso. Nevertheless, as I´ve started to play a keyboard, attend culture occasions, my heart and mind wanted to do more of artistics activities. I started watching paintings tutorials on Youtube, bought myself the basic tools (canvas, acrylic colors, brushes) and got down to painting! The results are up to you to assess.

Learning to play piano - let´s say this was damn hard challenge. I´ve always been more of an analytical guy, I´ve never played any instrument, never been much into artisitc fields. However, I´ve always loved the sound of instruments and kinda dreamed of being able to play something. Well, as the Covid hit the world, I said to myself now or never and bought myself a keyboard, notes for children, tutorials on Youtube and have spent countless hours and hours to embark on playing a keyboard. It was really bad at the beginning. What could I expect? I had no elementary knowledge, I simply did not know a-n-y-t-h-i-n-g! I was frustrated, sad, angry, disappointed. It took like three months to see first signs of improvements and onother year to be able to play the whole song! Motivation and persistence was the key!

Cooking new meals - I´ve neved been big fan of food delivery, to be honest. However, I´ve never been a mastech chef. I could cook around seven meals before Covid pandemic. So, when everything was closed and we were glued to our cell-phones, I´ve used it to learn new meals according to many recipes from Instagram. The benefits? You do not depend on the others (friends, family, your partner, food delivery), you save money, you buy and cook from the ingredients you like and know, you can invite and cook for your beloved ones. Moreover, I personally like the activity of cooking and baking.

Let´s go through few of my challenges and look at the benefits. I believe it might make you conscious of your inner or hidden motivation and give you a kick to start doing somethin you´ve always wanted.