I said in an earlier post, one day I’m gonna be just perfect.
I am constantly trying to improve myself – be more organized, eat more healthily, break new ground.
And before you think I am neurotic (maybe you already think that, ah well, hey ho) and tell me to chill, I want to state that I like achieving. It gives me great pleasure to overcome an obstacle or solve a problem. It’s the nearest thing I’ve got to a hobby!
It is certainly a character trait that rises up and shouts to be heard. If things are calm, I’m bored and I find things to shake up my world.
And so, three times this year I’ve set myself 100 day challenges.
They involve setting myself a goal – something I have to do (or avoid doing in the case of a bad habit) every day for one hundred days.
I then tell at least two friends or announce it on this blog.
Then.
I go do it.
Things I’ve noticed about these challenges:
- The first few days, there are slip-ups, accidental or otherwise
- Then it gets easier; I become more aware, establish the boundary more firmly
- Around the 30 day mark, it is well established, I don’t even think about it
- And by 35 days, it’s so embedded in my consciousness I actively avoid breaking the habit, even if I want to, for fear of undoing all my hard work
- Eventually I pass the 100 day mark and don’t even notice because the habit is so firmly established by that point.
My challenges this year so far have been:
- breaking a nasty addiction to celebrity gossip columns in a particular British online newspaper (I didn’t even know what these people were famous for but I got to know them intimately during this phase;) I even got a friend addicted – I’m sure there’s a word for that but I’m not cool nor up on street talk. Anyway, it had to go.
- dropping wheat from my diet, chronicled here and here
- exercising for one hour a day, every day, no ifs no buts
In each case, my goal was very focused and I gave myself permission to let go of other stuff around it. So, in the case of dropping the wheat (I stretched it to going completely gluten-free after a while,) I could eat anything else I wanted, even if it wasn’t so good for me like my BFF – Trader Joes’ chocolate-covered blueberries.
With the exercise, I could do any exercise I felt like on any given day and sometimes that included a full T-Tapp workout followed by some yoga or it might have been just a gentle walk if my energy wasn’t up so much that day. But it had to be for 60 minutes, no excuses.
I have been so successful in establishing, or breaking, these habits and been so pleased with the results that I have decided to set a new goal in this way every month. I will announce it here on my blog and give you, my dear readers, updates on a weekly basis during the month. I’ll put daily updates on the TSLWW Facebook page.
I’m starting my first 30 day challenge this week on September 1st. I am still mulling over which bothersome habit I wish to exclude from my life or great habit I wish to instill but the clock will start ticking at midnight on Wednesday and I will let you know before then what I have decided.
I would love to have some peeps join me with a challenge of their own, we can encourage each other and hold one another accountable. Drop a line in the comments if you’d like to join in!
