30 Day Success Challenge

There it is…again! That nasty, tight, frustrated feeling in the pit of your stomach. You know the feeling. The feeling you get when you just gave up….again…on that life-changing goal you set for yourself. You know the goal I’m talking about. The goal to lose weight, or stop smoking or improve the relationship, or earn the degree, or find the dream job, or start that business or take that trip, or find that significant other, or clean the garage, or improve your wardrobe or the many other thousand goals that I could mention here (but won’t)!

Don’t be too hard on yourself, because this phenomena plaques most of mankind, so you’re in good company! Although you are now officially one of billions, why stay there? Is it more comfortable to stay with the multitudes who loudly proclaim why they couldn’t do something, or would it be more compelling to move from the crowd and relish in the accomplishment of the goal? Choice shouldn’t be too difficult. The choice is never hard it’s the buy-in that’s hard!

Now that I have your attention, let’s discuss this ‘buy-in’ I just mentioned. When you set a goal to change your life or a major habit such as exercise you are in perfect agreement with yourself because you want to look better and feel better…of course you do, who doesn’t? You join a gym or buy equipment for use at home, you purchase new running shoes, and you find a new diet plan…basically everything is in place for your new life habit…happy day, happy day!

You start! Everything is great! Life keeps going…the job, the family, obligations; holidays etc…you know the routine. Then ‘it’ starts. “It” is the compromising that starts because all of a sudden your new life habit is beginning to become just a little bit of a burden. The shine has worn off. You want the result but …well you know the story…it’s the same one you tell yourself on each failed attempt!

30 Days from Today…

As the smart people I imagine you to be as you read this, you know 30 days will come and go whether you do anything or not…right? 30 days will go come rain or shine…right? What if in 30 days you had something exciting to celebrate? What if in 30 days you were well on your way to establishing a life long habit. I’m not saying a life change will permanently occur, but what if you had a foundation to make a life change…would that interest you?

If interested…keep reading…if not, check in tomorrow for another article post. For those of you that are still with me…let’s go.

One of the things I discovered about attempting to change habits for life was I had to get permission from myself to do so. Part of me wanted the change, but another part didn’t quite buy into the change. When you tell yourself that “after today” things will be different forever, a part of you just doesn’t buy it. If you think about it, ‘forever’ is a pretty long time. What if the habit you intend to change gives you pleasure or a benefit of some kind, then ‘forever’ will be a harsh blow to your psyche. Although you somehow get yourself to start, chances are you will not be able to continue. Chances are you will begin to self sabotage. Why? There was no plan or even a plan B or more importantly, an exit strategy! "An exit strategy", you say, "why give myself an out?" Why not? The wonderful part about life is choice and our continuous ability to do so. We are always choosing. Our focus shifts as something new and exciting comes our way and we choose differently again…we are always choosing! That’s the exciting part of life, Choices!

Now let’s say you choose to exercise because you have determined you will look and feel better, you will experience increased energy levels so you can work on other goals in your life, your clothes will look great etc. These payoffs are something you would probably want to keep for life…right? However, history tells you that your attempt to change for life has not worked out? Here’s what you do…choose to workout/exercise for 30 days only! That’s right…only commit for 30 days! Once the 30 days are over go back to feeling heavy, consuming 3500+ calories a day, wearing tight, ill-fitting clothes. If you are giving up smoking, only commit for 30 days, no more, no less! After 30 days, go back to reduced lung capacity etc. If you choose to improve your relationship, after 30 days go back to the fighting and negative thinking about your significant other. Whatever the goal, only commit for 30 days. After 30 days give it up…if you can!

Why 30 Days?

Think about it…30 days is a significantly small and manageable piece of time in your life. It's not forever. As I stated before it will pass whether you want it to or not! Within this small chunk of time you get to try on the new habit and determine if it suits you…its like trying on clothes at the store before you make the decision to ‘buy’. Try on your new habit. Ask yourself during or after the trial period, "Does it suit me?", "Does it feel right?" If not, can you do it differently or should you just give it up altogether?

After 30 Days….

Once the 30 day period is over decide if this change is something you want to keep. Did you experience any benefit? Did you feel different? Did you change the way you look? Did you change the way you look at things and life? If so, choose to keep going. I went to the library last week with my daughter because she wanted to borrow some books. The librarian told her that if she wanted to keep them past the due date, just call and renew them. Do the same with your 30 day habit. If you want to renew the time…give yourself another 30 days. At the end of those 30 days, decide again. Remember, you can give this up at any time. I am still exercising after almost year because I keep renewing my 30 days!

Try this method on any habit you want to incorporate into your life. Try before you buy! Below are just few examples of the new habits you can try on for 30 days:

Exercise
No Smoking
Read for an hour a day or a book a week
Eat healthy
Call friends/family
Spend quality time with children
Less T.V or no T.V
No caffeine
No meat
Drink 8 glasses of water a day
Meditate
Make 'x' amount of sales calls a day: Sales people - imagine the income you could earn if you did this one!
Organize your office or desk at the end of the day

Challenge

Pick a habit and commit to it for 30 days starting today! Try not to choose too many habits to work on at this point. You want to ensure success so don't overload yourself! Also, be responsible! If you have physical or dietary issues don't start a new habit without sound advice from your physician or medical practitioner.

Write to me and let me know your progress at pgoulah2@hotmail.com. I would love to hear how you are doing and what benefits you are receiving. Remember to pick a habit that you can do every day. This will not work on something that you would normally only do once or twice a week. Choose something from the above list or choose your own.

Remember, a journey of a thousand miles begins with the first step!

Tomorrow's Article: The Science of Getting Rich – part 1


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V . I. P. -- Very Inspiring Person

This week’s V.I.P is Gabriel Krekk! Gabriel is a tremendous source of inspiration to his circle of friends and fans alike! My initial introduction to this artist came at a local art showing of his work. Upon entry I was somewhat confused as I thought I would be viewing works of watercolour art….the images I was viewing were photographs...at least that’s what I thought upon my initial examination. Think of my surprise and amazement when I learned they were indeed watercolour productions! Gabriel’s brushstroke technique is so advanced it brings his subjects to life! His gift as an artist is truly unique and a gift to us all! His gift of inspiration also comes from his dedication to his vision and the hard work that he eagerly gives to his dream on a continual basis. After working 12 hour shifts at his job he takes the remaining hours of his week to produce his wonderful works of art! Last year he met his goal of 14 paintings! This year he is well on his way to meeting his goal of 20! Gabriel is using the power of intention to get his work onto the international stage. Through his own set of intense marketing efforts to galleries across Canada and the U.S., he now has upcoming exhibitions in Los Angeles, New York and Indiana! Offers are beginning to come in from other prominent galleries as well! It won’t be too long before he meets his goal of international stardom as an artist! Please take a moment to visit Gabriel’s “Cybergallery” at his website to view his work and upcoming exhibition dates: http://www.gabrielkrekk.com/. Thanks Gabriel for your visionary spirit and spectacular art!