The Appeal of Challenges

I don't see much of the appeal of playing Cuphead or Dark Souls or Getting Over It with Bennett Foddy, games that are notorious for being brutally difficult. I don't see much of the appeal of struggle. Yet, I see the appeal of climbing mountains, and on some levels, it's a very similar thing. Some challenges are rewarding, if only for the satisfaction of overcoming them. People climb mountains for the gorgeous views and a good workout, but there is also the benefit of the sense of accomplishment, and that sense of accomplishment, that satisfaction of success, that feeling of relief and pride, can be a great source of motivation to undertake and/or complete a great challenge.

Life is a great challenge. Life can be difficult, sometimes brutally so, especially if one tries to get through life while maintaining high moral standards. Yet, perhaps the difficulty of life is part of the appeal. We came to Earth to prove ourselves. The difficulties of life help us prove what we're made of and what we can handle. The tougher our challenges are, the tougher we prove ourselves to be when we overcome them.

I suppose it's a matter of pride, though hopefully a positive aspect of pride. The pride that compels us to prove that we're greater than others can be a great stumbling block, but the pride that compels us to prove greater than our challenges can be a great strength.

When I face tough challenges, I'm sometimes tempted to give up. Sometimes, I try to rationalize giving up by telling myself that the benefits of success aren't worth the costs in time or effort, and that may be true, or I may be miscalculating the benefits of succeeding at doing difficult things. Overcoming tough challenges, like climbing mountains and beating Cuphead can be its own reward, as is getting through life. We shouldn't shy away from such challenges. The greater the challenge, the greater the victory.