Challenges are what make life interesting and overcoming them is what makes life meaningful.” Joshua J. Marine

Want more meaning in your life? Focus on your “sweet spot.” The sweet spot is the area in between our “comfort zone” and “survival zone.” In the comfort zone, tasks seem effortless and we can act with ease, we don’t have a sense that we are struggling but at times we can feel bored. In the survival zone, we are in a constant state of arousal and stress, we don’t feel equipped to handle the tasks. We don’t get to enjoy anything during the process because we are just trying to get through it without falling apart. In the sweet spot, we can feel frustrated but we are not discouraged. The difficulty is not so overwhelming that it paralyzes us, but it’s right on the edge of our ability. It’s in this sweet spot that we learn the best and build our self-esteem.

When seeking out challenges, we want to be like Goldilocks- find something not too easy, not too challenging, but just right. In fact, you can turn most stressful events into something “just right.” Find out how to turn stress into a healthy challenge (as well as the negative long term effects if we stay in survival mode too long) here.