Creating a challenging course? Remind learners of others' success

If you are creating a challenging course, keep your learners' confidence up by reminding them that other learners have been successful.

Totally obvious I know, but sometimes we forget to do it. This weekend I was up in the Colorado mountains (Fraser, to be exact) and was going for a run along a ravine straight into wilderness. I had run for about 25 minutes or so and was thinking about turning around. The sun was setting and run ins with bears and mountain lions are not uncommon this time of year, especially along ravines. I stopped to turn around, and then spied another runner coming towards me. I asked him how further he had gone. "Oh, about 15 minutes--you'll pass a couple camping and then another hiking."

"Well, shoot, if he could do and not get eaten so can I," I thought. So on I ran... --Daniel