Challenging yourself can be seen as a natural progression of something you’ve probably been doing since childhood: risky play. As children, we’re encouraged to experience ‘risky play’; we learn and gain a sense of achievement through uncertainty and unpredictability, while still playing in a safe and familiar environment. Think about how children discover they can climb out of their crib, or whizz down a slide… it’s all risky play. As we get older, we choose not to put ourselves in these situations. Instead, we much prefer to play it safe – but staying within our safety bubble can prevent us from further developing our sense of self, and from understanding more of what we’re capable of, mentally and physically.

Of course, as adults we already know how to climb out of cribs and slide down slides, so challenging yourself is about finding new ways to enjoy risky play. For some people, this becomes a way of life. As British triathlete Alistair Brownlee says, ‘I’d rather have three or four cracking years of winning stuff than having 10 years of being average’. So why not challenge yourself to learn new talents?