At the end of July, I wrote a blog post encouraging everyone in the Create Write Now Journaling for the Health of It ™ community to take on a 30-day challenge -- whether it was trying something new and exciting, adopting a positive habit or dropping a bad behavior.
The idea came from a great TED talk from Google engineer Matt Cutts who has committed to a wide array of month-long challenges over the last few years, from taming his wild email inbox to biking to work every day.
His question to the audience was:
What are you waiting for? I guarantee you the next 30 days are going to pass whether you like it or not, so why not think about something you have always wanted to try and give it a shot for the next 30 days.
Why not indeed! Matt inspired me and a lot of other journalers to follow his good xample and pursue a new goal for 30 days. Did you participate in the challenge? Since it has been just over a month since we threw down the journaling gauntlet, now is a great time to write about your own experiences.
Journaling Your Goals
1. Open your journal to a new page. What goal did you set for the 30-day challenge? Why were you initially drawn to your objective?
2. How did you get started in working toward your goal? Describe the first few days of the process. How did you set aside time to make progress? Did you break the larger goal into smaller steps or set milestones along the way?
3. How did you feel the first week? Overwhelmed, excited, nervous? What about the second? Did you encounter any drawbacks or obstacles during the first two weeks? How did you cope with them? What were your victories during the first half of the challenge? How did you celebrate them?
4. Repeat the same exercise for weeks three and four.
5. At the end of the 30 days, did you accomplish what you set out to do? What were the most memorable -- good and bad -- parts of your journey? Were there any major milestones or turning points? How did you use journaling during the process? Overall, how would you rate the experience? Would you take on another challenge like this in the future? What’s next on your list?
Feel free to share your thoughts in the comments!
*** Anyone writing a blog article about their 30 Challenge will get a T-Shirt. This contest is no expiration date. We’ll publish our first winner (Natasha Morales) tomorrow.
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