365 days of Challenges with True Core
Do you ever have those moments where you feel a little stir-crazy and you want do try something new to challenge yourself? Well, last month our household decided set a new goal to achieve in 2017-2018. We put our heads together and came up with 12 different 30 day challenges.
What are the "365 Days of Challenges"?
So here's how it goes, I wrote out our challenges on one piece of paper and after cutting them into long strips, I rolled them and dropped them into the mason jar. On the first of each month we “pull” a challenge from the very fancy and high tech mason jar I dug out of our cupboard, and do the thing it tells us to do.
After we have pulled that month's challenge, we then have that challenge to work on for the next 30 days. We have a wide variety of challenges to choose from each month, but every time we are faced with the task of pulling a new task, I have felt nervous each time. The thought of failure is on my mind and something I am learning from these challenges is that I will probably fail at doing them perfectly each month. So not only is it probable it is inevitable, ugh...
The perfectionist inside squirms at the thought that I will potentially fall short of my goal or challenge. But the point of doing these challenges isn’t to nail them flawlessly each time, it is to put us outside of our comfort zone, get us thinking differently, and increase our connectedness to one another.
Learning to be okay with the fact that I didn’t wake up right at 5:30am each day this month has been a challenge in and of itself for me. Often I am so black and white in my thinking that I lose sight of being comfortable in the grey. I am an all or nothing kind of gal, and while that is useful in some situations, I am learning that hitting your goal 90 to 95% of the time is actually much better than quitting after you don't hit it 100% of the time in the first seven days.
This struggle with the grey has been tough to overcome in the past. If I messed up a little, it was difficult for me to continue because I wasn't perfect. One of the best ways I have found to change this behavior is to get better at failing. In the past I have found myself either frustrated with my failings or feeling too safe with my previous goals. However, as I have grown in awareness, I have realized the goal or challenge should push you, but not over-exert you; i.e., if getting out of bed by 10am is a challenge for you, shooting for 5:30am every morning may not even be in the right ballpark. (It has worked for me because I was already getting up around 6-6:30am).
I have also gotten better at failing by giving myself grace when I fail and I continue on my path despite my issues. Most importantly, I have given myself the opportunity to fail because I have actually set goals and challenges for myself. This is important to mention because many people go through life without writing down what they actually want for their lives. Goals and challenges are tricky, you want them to be difficult enough that you have to work for it, but not so out of touch with reality that you are mired in a pit of disappointment when you fail at your goal (been there, done that).
YOUR | TURN
If you’re interested in these 30 day challenges I have attached a list of them, you can cut them into long strips like I did or just leave them on your fridge intact. I like the idea of pulling a random challenge each month out of the jar, but if you want a little more control, you can dictate when your challenges occur throughout the year. Basically do whatever you want. And if you want to give them a shot you could try them for the full year or you could do 3, 6, or 9 months! You can also write up your own, I just wanted to give you the option to print them off for yourself.
Do your best, but know that learning from the challenges and stretching yourself from the experience can be the ultimate goals! If you give it a a shot, you will learn a lot about yourself in the midst of trying these out.
I suggest that you do them with an accountability partner! And with that being said, if you don’t have one, contact me and I can support you in your challenges!