30 Day Challenge

My 30 Day Challenge Manifestation Board! After I finished making it, I hung it on the back of my bedroom door right at face height, so it will always be in my vision when I leave my bedroom to begin my day! 

Hello lovelies! I'm taking a break from the art and poetry today to talk to you all about something I am beginning this month, which I am referring to as my own personal 30 Day Journey to a Healthier Body, Mind and Spirit (or just the 30 day challenge, for short). 

This challenge means something to me because as many of you know, and as I wrote about in a post on this blog at the beginning of the year, I struggle with anxiety and depression, as many of us do to one degree or another. I have been on and off different dosages of different medications, seen therapists, I've tried it all. Yet somehow I was still struggling. I had succumb to the idea that I couldn't control my racing mind, or how terrible and mean I was to myself. If I had a 'friend' that said the things I said to myself, that person would have been cut from my life long ago!  

So many of us are our own worst critics, so much so that it's almost an ingrained thought process. For many, negative self talk comes so much more freely and naturally than positivism. We can't control the messages delivered to us by the outside world, but we can control the ones we deliver to ourselves. When we speak to ourselves, we have the power to build ourselves up or to limit ourselves. Our words carry power. Just think about the Law of Attraction. Our thoughts connect us to the universe, and enact the timeless belief that life doesn't happen to us, but rather responds to us. To our attitudes. Our beliefs. Our vibes and energies. Simply put, we are magnets! We attract what we put our energy into. And putting energy into hateful self talk, doubts and anxieties, will not bring good things into your life. 

Something I know all too well is that our lives are shaped by the thoughts we play in our heads. We shape our outer lives, our reality, via our inner lives. Our thoughts have the power to either enhance or diminish our human experience, and I've decided that I'm done using mine for the latter. I want to take back my brain, my thoughts, my self-esteem and my life. I want to overcome years of negative programming and replace it with more fruitful, helpful thoughts. I want to become the happiest, healthiest version of myself both mentally, physically, and spiritually. But I've began this journey only to fall off the wagon so many times, I wanted to be serious about it this time.So I created this challenge for myself. Because I am ready to face myself. I'm ready to face the things that are holding me back, to challenge my negative beliefs and my egoic mind and to introduce positive change into my life for good. 

I created the challenge board (pictured above) and hung it on the back of my bedroom door right at face height, so that each time I'm ready to leave my room and start my day, it is a reminder of my promise to myself to build a better me. They say it takes 21 days to form a habit, so this challenge should be more than enough to get be well on the path to a healthier and more positive lifestyle. I also hope that by having a visual representation of my challenge readily available and in my space, it will help hold me accountable to myself, and help to keep me motivated to stick with it.

This 30 Day Challenge entails 5 tasks each day. 

1) Repeating to myself a positive affirmation, that I personally wrote for that day. It took me a lot of time to pinpoint which particular affirmations I wanted to focus on, and I started the challenge with ones that felt more natural for me to tell myself, and will be ending it with ones that are more difficult. I will repeat it to myself throughout the day. In my head, out loud. I can write it down on paper or in my phone. I'll say it while I'm driving, or showering. I'll tell it to myself in the mirror while I'm getting dressed. When I feel uncomfortable, or stressed or anxious. When I feel happy or proud of myself. I will repeat this phrase and I will be genuine, sincere and deliberate about my repetitions. Here is a list of the 30 affirmations I am using for this challenge, in order, in case you're interested in using them or beginning a challenge like this of your own. And if you need or would like a better look at my affirmation board, just contact you and I can send you a photo to help you get started on your own! You can do this, and if you're looking for the right time, that time is now!! 

2) I will go to the gym! This one I am allowing myself one "rest day" per 7 days of the challenge, but I want to go to the gym as much as I possibly can. Working out releases endorphins in your brain that elevate your mood and give you more energy. I also notice I feel more confident in myself and in my body when I'm putting effort into it. I don't have to have an absolute killer, balls-to-the-wall workout every single day, but simply do the best I have to offer for that particular day. 

3) I will do a minimum amount of yoga each day (starting with 15 minutes and slowly increasing throughout the duration of the challenge). This one I am not allowing myself a rest day. I can do it at the gym, as my workout, or in addition to. I'm allowing myself the flexibility to listen to my body and do what feels right, without going overboard and doing more damage than good. Yoga aims to unite the mind, body, and spirit which is one of my main goals of this challenge. To explore and become more at peace and knowledgeable about my 'inner world'. 

4) I will meditate for a minimum number of minutes each day, that will increase as the challenge continues. No exceptions. I am allowing myself flexibility with this practice as well. I can do it in the shower, at the end of my yoga practice, to begin my day or to end it. However I see fit and right for myself at the time. During my time meditating I will repeat my positive affirmation to myself, as well as ones from days prior and practice being kind to myself and uplifting and complimenting my being. 

5) And finally, I will do something positive for myself each day, and write what that thing was on my challenge board. This must be something not already included in the challenge (so I can't use 'meditated' or 'went to the gym') but can be anything from taking a bath, to tidying up my room or seeing a friend. 

My goals for this challenge are simple, to get the most out of the next 30 days that I possibly can. I want to build good habits and good practices for myself, so that I can carry them beyond this challenge and continue to live a healthy and happy life. I don't want to fall off the wagon or cheat myself. I want to stick to this challenge and I think I owe it to myself to do so. I plan to write about this challenge again at the 21 day point (the "habit formation checkpoint") and again at the end and will tell you all, honestly, how it went. But I would also like to urge you all to do challenges of your own! What is something you've been wanting to achieve that you've been holding yourself back from? If you were looking for a sign to go ahead and just do it--take the risk--this is your sign. YOU have the power to shape your life. YOU have the power to manifest positive things for yourself, but you can only do so as much as you change your thoughts and beliefs about yourself. 

So here's to my journey of learning to be more kind to myself, and choosing to be happy. And I hope this can inspire some of you to begin your own journey to the things you desire in life. 

Godspeed, friends.