Want to make your months more memorable? Here is my personal journey trying new things for 30 days inspired by Matt Cutt's TED talk.
Hi! The fact that you are reading this article means that you are interested in exploring new things and props to you for that! My name is Amanda Neumann and I am sophomore at Michigan State University. I don't do things I know I won't be good at and I am often afraid of big changes.
The best part of this challenge is that the changes don't have to be big, they can be miniscule, but still extremely beneficial. I had a much worse first semester at MSU than I anticipated. I did not feel I was truly using my full potential or doing meaningful things with my time.
Luckily enough for me, the beginning of my 19th year on Earth was January 1st, 2019, so instead of making a resolution, I decided to set a timeline of 30 days to develop a new habit or throw out an old one.
The Catalyst
The video that was the catalyst for all of this was Matt Cutt's TED talk called "Try something new for 30 days". In his talk, he explains that he started by adding or subtracting things from his life for only 30 days at a time. He did simple things like biking to work, taking a picture everyday, and then even hiking Mt. Kilimanjaro.
Jumping into January
I started pretty ambitious in January when I became a pescatarian, which means that I am a vegetarian, but can eat fish because I could never give up sushi. After the 30 days were done, I didn't even want to eat meat and found other ways to get my protein.
Not eating meat makes me feel less lethargic and I am glad that I am not supporting the crazy amount of pollution the meat industry creates, so I can safely say I haven't eaten meat since December 31st, 2018 and may never do it again.
Saying no to Swearing, being that annoying photography girl & making librarians as friends?
For February, I tried not to swear because I was honestly afraid I would do it in a professional setting and really embarrass myself. I only did it twice all month and my roomate caught be both times and in turn made me do burpees. In March, I decided to take a photo every day, which was an absolute blast.
About half way through the month, I got a Canon EOS Rebel SL2 and have become obsessed with capturing memories. This also allowed me to remember exactly what I was doing and gave each day more meaning. During April, I wanted to read everyday whether it was 20 pages before bed or a whole book in two days. I finished three books and now can make great recommendations.
MAY I please get to yoga on time for once?!
College summers are so weird because everyone is out doing internships and seems to be traveling all over Europe, so I decided to really focus on myself during the month of May. I make sure that I am doing physical activity every day, which is easy to do alone but even more fun with friends. Whether it was running 3 miles alone, attempting yoga with new friends, or using this opportunity to take my dog on a walk, I have loved this challenge.
What are you waiting for?!
Overall, I have seen results whether it be a better sculpted body, people noticing I "stepped up my game on Insta", or being able to better understand issues through people's experiences portrayed in books. The biggest lessons during all of this was being able to exercise self-discipline and realizing that I can accomplish things I put my mind to in order to better my life.
At the end of Matt's talk, he said after writing his novel in 30 days, he can introduce himself as a novelist instead of computer science at Google, which is really equally cool. I can now say I am an avid reader, pescaterian, photographer, and someone who used to hate fitness. This whole idea is so cool because if you hate that thing you tried, oh well.
Do you really ever waste time when trying something new? NO because it helps you realize more about yourself, so I encourage you, get out and try something new for 30 days!
