The Power of 30
Few years ago I decided to challenge myself. I just finished reading The Power of Habits and WimHof’s book. I felt inspired to explore where and how I can begin the journey of bettering myself. I was unhappy with my health state, I wasn’t really exercising or even eating optimally. Not that I was a habitual junk eater but I knew there was room to improve. So in the spring of 2020, after completing those books I decided to do some challenges that would put me outside of the comfort zone with my body and mind.
I read that it takes 30 days, on the average, to build a new habit. So I decided to test this theory. My goal wasn’t really to achieve any metric of improvement or reach a specific goal. It was more to try to see where do I stack up against myself? I decided to do these 30 days personal challenges. I have completed a series of 4 so far and would like to share what I have learned about myself, the power of habits and what is actually possible to achieve within 30 days.
Running
I fuckin hate running. This is one activity that is just a big no no in my books. I do not run for anything, unless I have to. I know that this is a terrible mentality but nonetheless it has been my personal block for ages. So what better way to start this journey than really throw yourself at the deep end of the uncomfort zone. So the goal was to run every morning for 30 days for at least 30 minutes.
The first 5 days were a nightmare. By day 7 I realized I needed different shoes. By day 15 it was pretty ok to run….I began looking forward to it, I hated the act of it and I loved the post run feeling of rushed excitement and energy. To my biggest surprise I did it. It started out rough and I could barely finish 30 mins but by the last week 30 minutes felt ok and pretty doable. I feel like I could have improved my form with proper stretches because I kept getting shin splits. But I completed it and was immensely proud of myself. Unfortunately this habit did not stick with me, at all. I think largely due to lack on education on proper running techniques. I was also told that 30 days non stop was a terrible idea because there was no rest days, which are needed. It was stupid of me not to realize it because even in going to the gym you learn about importance of rest days. I think I fucked up my feet.
No added sugar
Next challenge, which by the way happened back to back after the running one. I wanted to improve my dietary habits. While I would not consider myself to be the biggest sweet tooth, I do enjoy a weekly chocolate bar or nightly cap of ice cream. But by far this challenge was the most eye opening experience. I have had addictions in my life but boy oh boy sugar is by far the hardest to kick, even if you do not think you have one. Here is the thing that I learned. Sugar is in 99.99% of everything that you eat. Like everything! I wanted to stop sugar just to adjust my levels of energy throughout the day and feel less sluggish. What I learned through the 30 days was an eye opening experience. It is virtually impossible to eat without sugar, but also good sugar is needed. Glucose is needed for your body. It is about learning good and bad types. Berries and fruits are a good source of sugar but also should be done in moderation. Processed sugar is the worst type. It causes so many diseases and health problems. What I learned from this experience was nutritional values of a lot of products. It has helped me become a better food shopper. I am not very conscious about what I am putting in my body. While I did not stop eating sugar completely past the 30 days challenge. I did change drastically how I eat and how aware I have become about products. I have cut down a lot of bad sugar and snacking habits since the challenge
Cold showers
We all love the comfort and relaxation of a warm bath or a shower. Most of us look forward to it in the morning or aching for the moment when you come home from a long day and take a warm comforting shower. But what about cold shower?
Most of us would cringe at the thought of it. I have spoken to a lot of people and all unanimously exclaim that it is not for them. While I did not really have a feeling of dread when I decided to do this challenge it wasn’t met with lots of excitement either. There are tons of benefits for a cold shower. It improves health, lowers inflammation’s, improves cardiovascular health and overall wellness and promotes happier moods. To be honest this was the easiest challenge. Partially due to the fact, I have mentioned it wasn’t really that new or scary to me. It took a few days to get used to. Where I had to gradually reduce the warm water to become cooler. But by day 3 I was doing full on ice cold water. I loved it. It gave such a boost of energy and adrenaline. It was a super energizing way to start a day. So overall was one of the best 30 day challenges. I recommend it to everyone. It is the best introductory way for you to learn about yourself. It has tons of benefits and it really gives you so much energy. I am now seeking to get into more of WimHof’s methods of cold therapy and breathing. Next stop ice bath challenges!
Launching a business
At the brink of Russian invasion of Ukraine I started heavily exploring the place creative people hold in the time of global events. From pandemics to wars…we were not thought of as the first responders. So what place do we occupy in the emergency situation? Are we relevant? This journey have led me to another challenge. Starting a social impact business that is born out of necessity. I also wanted to break the stigma of difficulties of launching a business. I wanted to test and see how hard it would be to gain traction as an idea within 30 days. I have launched businesses before but none of them were born under pressure, there is space and time for it to mature and develop. So over one weekend I launched a quick website that helped displaced creatives on Ukraine find gigs worldwide. It went from a blog post to a full functioning website in 2 days. Over the next week I launched instagram profile calling all displaced creative to add their profile. First week it was all manual process. Which took a lot out of me. By 2nd week we redesigned the website to be more automatic. Where people were able o add their own profile and job offers. Within 3 weeks we had over 100+ creatives and a team of notable volunteers helping us on the website and the instagram. We had dozen of companies posting job and gig opportunities. We have been featured in numerous design publications that helped us bring visibility. By 30 days this initiative was primed for growth. Since the inception it has opened doors to all creatives going through hardship and injustice. Currently we are undergoing rebrand and business shift where this initiative is becoming an advocacy group for creatives. To help those who have been affected by injustice or prejudice to tell their story, to bring transparency in order to improve lifestyle and conditions of creatives. To create for better laws and policies that see creatives not as an avatar of skills but people with emotions and lives.
So what have I learned in all of this? That change is not as hard as we envision it to be. Sometimes you are just a month apart from the life you want to lead. I learned that compounding interest of great habits can help you become a person you haven’t even dreamed to be possible. I discovered that our bodies and mind are such amazing instruments and mechanism, possible of great achievement if we nourish it properly. I am looking forward to getting into more habits and challenges to help me break the boundaries of my limits. What challenge are you aspired to take on?
