One of the fundamental truisms of human existence which can be easily validated from personal experiences and daily observations is that life without challenges is an illusion. It is self-deceit and irrational reasoning to imagine a life that is bankrupt of challenges. Challenges are all-time companions of life. As a matter of fact, challenge and life are Siamese twins. Anyone who claims to have no challenges is either telling a lie, or saying what he does not understand. Besides, anyone who has no challenges has no reason for existing. Such a person is overqualified for death.

Our lives as human beings are immersed in challenges from cradle to the grave, not just when we become adults. Though some people may assume that human beings are immune from the challenges of life during the infancy stage of their existence because they are dependent; a closer observation and deeper reflection on this assumption unveil the truth that it is incorrect because there is a limit to the help a human being can receive at every stage in life. There are certain things about our lives we must do ourselves. We are initiated into challenges from birth, even before we become aware of our existence.

If you realise that a baby has to learn how to crawl, stand and walk by himself; you will admit that he is vulnerable to life challenges before he becomes aware of his existence. The fact that no one can learn how to crawl, stand or walk for a child is an axiomatic, a fundamental truth that cannot be reasonably contested. The truth is obvious from our personal experiences. These are not the only challenges we overcame as infants. Prior to attaining our present state of existence, we all learnt how to cry, eat, drink, etc.

However, though every human being is plagued with challenges at every point in time, different people react to challenges differently. While some people are conscious of their challenges, some are (or appear to be) ignorant of them. In addition, while some people are determined to combat the challenges of life with courage, others lack the willpower to do so. Furthermore, while some people are prepared for the challenges of life, others are unprepared for them. Worse still, while some people conquer their challenges, most others are conquered by their challenges.

There are some truths I have realised about challenges in the course of my sojourn in this planet. One of them is that though no one can avoid challenges, everyone can manage challenges. It is not within your power to escape or outsmart the challenges of life, but you can always evolve how to manage them. Another truth about challenge I also discovered is that there is no challenge of life that does not have solution, though people may be ignorant of it. The real challenge is discovering the solution to challenges.

In addition, challenge is like a chameleon. It always adjusts its colour to that of its environment. This is why, while there are some challenges that are peculiar to parents, there are some that are peculiar to children. While there are also some challenges that are peculiar to married people, there are also some that are peculiar to singles. Furthermore, while there are some challenges that are associated with the poor, there are some challenges that are associated with the rich. This is why everyone has, and will always have, challenges.

In addition, every challenge has an expiry date. However, the end of every challenge always marks the beginning (or birth) of another challenge. This is why challenges are perennial. For instance, when a woman gets married, she graduates from the challenges of singles, but matriculates into the challenges of married people. When a student graduates from a tertiary institution, he outgrows the challenges of undergraduates, but gets initiated in the challenges of graduates.

It may interest you to know that the challenges of life are usually greater than the ones they succeed. But the good thing about challenge is that it makes life interesting. Life without challenge is not only meaningless, but also uninteresting. But life with excessive challenges is unarguably in danger. How do challenges make life interesting? You would have realised that happiness derives from success, but success occurs when a challenge is overcome. Hence, there will be neither happiness nor success in the absence of (overcoming) challenges.

However, one of the most important lessons I have learnt about challenge management is that most times, people look for solutions to their challenges where they are not. It is a pity that most people look very far for the solutions to their challenges, while they are within them. Many people are unable to effectively and efficiently manage the challenges of life because they underrate what they have within themselves. According to Ralph Waldo Emerson, “The things that lie ahead of us, behind us and beside us, are tiny matters in comparison with the things that lie within us.”

This is why you should learn to look within for the solutions to your challenges. Let me conclude this essay with this story. A man was driving with his son. His car had a flat tyre on the road. He alighted to replace the flat tyre with the spare one. After removing the nuts from the tyre, a mad man took them and ran away while he was bringing out the spare tyre from the car. He became very confused on how to fix the spare tyre. After several minutes, he was still unable to find a way out. His son asked him, “Dad, what is the problem?”

He replied, “I cannot fix the spare tyre because the mad man who passed by ran away with the nuts. The boy replied, “There are five nuts on each of the other tyres. If we remove a nut from each of the tyres, we will have three nuts to fix the spare tyre. We can drive with that and buy more nuts as soon we get to where it is being sold”. The man did as his son said and they drove off. The lesson from this story is that if you open wide the eyes of your mind and look within yourself, you will observe that the things you need to overcome your challenges are within your reach.