Have you ever promised yourself to stick to a personal goal, but your intention fell short weeks later? If so, a "30-Day Challenge" is right for you! A 30-day challenge is an excellent strategy to use to develop a new habit or break an old one. I learned this concept two years ago when I stumbled upon Matt Cutts’ blog. What’s cool about this concept is that it isn't "permanent." You can change your challenge every 30 days. When you give it a shot, I know that you will experience all the amazing benefits the challenge has to offer.
Committing to a 30-day challenge is beneficial because it's temporary and measurable. You don't have to think that you have to commit to something your whole life, especially if you didn't enjoy it. Furthermore, we tend to lose motivation for something we have been doing for a very long time if we don’t get rewarded for it.
Let's say you want to exercise an hour a day for the whole year starting from tomorrow. The story will go as follows. A spark of excitement will rush through you. You run to your nearest store to buy some exercising equipment and a notebook to track your progress. You will also have a sleepless night because you can't wait to start exercising in the morning. Finally, you wake up early in the morning and exercise for three hours instead of one. By now, you probably figured out the ending of the story: You may eventually give up! Giving up the exercise routine you set doesn't mean that you weren't capable of exercising. It just means that you were not getting rewarded for the overwhelming long-term goal you set. In addition, if you are not in the habit of exercising then more than likely you won't achieve your goal unless you start building that habit step by step. If you don't want to give up then you have to develop realistic, short-term personal goals. This is why a 30 day challenge works. At the end of the 30 days, you will hopefully overcome that inertia. You can continue exercising after 30 days while adding a new habit. More importantly, you won't feel discouraged if you quit exercising in the future because you had already accomplished that goal!
I highly encourage you to start a 30-day challenge if you haven't done so in the past. Who knows? Your challenge may turn into a habit. If your challenge does turn into a habit, make sure to stick to it and add on a new habit as well. Again, whether you enjoyed your challenge or not, you will change it later on. For me, sticking to the same routine can be quite boring. That's why I think doing 12 different personal goals a year is better than only one personal goal. I chose 10 random examples to get you started. Feel free to share some of your own ideas with us in the Facebook chat below.
Do one of the following every day for 30 days:
1. Chew your food more "slowly."Take a 5-10 second break between each bite. In other words, don't inhale your food!
2. Talk to someone new every day. Expand your network and make new friends.
3. Look up and memorize the "Word of the Day." Merriam Webster is a resource. Increase your vocabulary.
4. No social media. (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram). It's not as bad as you think it is.
5. Only drink "water" as a beverage. It was very challenging for me when I did it.
6. Write a novel (50,000 words). "All you have to do is write 1,667 words a day for a month." Matt Cutts
7. Read and finish a book. You can read more if you have time.
8. Write 250-500 words. Your topic can be about anything you like.
9. Don't complain. This can be quite challenging.
10. Give up your TV. That includes Netflix and video games too.
Steve Pavlina's Blog- 30 Day to Success
Check out the Ted Talk below...
