A stoll near Brighton pier

What could you challenge yourself to do next?

One day last week I decided on the spur of the moment to head down to Brighton. I had no plan but knew one would evolve as the morning unfolded. It was a glorious day and I felt the desire to have a lovely stroll along the promenade.

I could feel the excitement tingle through my body as I arrived at the station. I loved days when anything could happen and also where I could spend some time to myself.

As I walked along the sea front I was amazed at the international feel of it. It was like being in a mini London but with the added bonus of the sea.

I stopped to take it all in and found an empty bench which I could have all to myself. I sat down, closed my eyes and started to really unwind. Next minute, someone sat next to me, a retired gentleman who seemed very friendly. Although I wasn’t quite anticipating chatting to someone, I decided to engage in small talk with him anyway.

He asked me whether I had been in the sea recently. I’ve never been a strong swimmer, let alone swim in the sea, but smiled politely and said no. The man then mentioned he had set himself the challenge of swimming in November, December, January and February. He was now having a break! I couldn’t believe what I was hearing, he certainly had my attention now. Although he had only gone in for 10 minutes at a time, he wanted to prove to himself that he could.

I then asked him what his next challenge was and we ended up talking about sky diving and bungee jumping. I fondly remembered my sky dive a few years ago and really felt a sense of pride at achieving something quite challenging (especially when I have a fear of heights!). It was great to reflect back.

He then mentioned how he has met so many people along the promenade from all over the world and the fact he's set himself another challenge of speaking as many languages as possible – he now speaks 40. Well a few words of each! All self taught - by learning the phonetics through books borrowed from the library.

He was quite a character and by the end of our conversation I felt positively energised. A few weeks ago I had bought a Mandarin CD and book which has yet to come out of its plastic cover – I now feel inspired to make a start!

What could you challenge yourself to do next? It could be anything small from learning something new to taking up a new activity. What have you always dreamed of doing? What small step can you do to start achieving it?

Age doesn’t matter as this man proved to me, he had no fear. His motivation to learn languages has helped him meet (and connect to) people from all over the world plus he will never need to pay for accommodation again when he visits these countries. Good on him!

Go on set yourself the challenge and reward yourself afterwards. You will be so proud of yourself when you do!

(Please do not do anything too crazy as a bungee jump or sky jump after reading this it was just my personal example. I do want to make sure you are all safe and well! Enjoy.)