Why I failed at every 30-day challenge up till now.
I would manage 2 weeks just fine. After that something would just snap.
30 days — 4 weeks –it’s just too long a period to keep up with something. This was my opinion, rather my experience. Be it writing down my expenses or following a workout regime or eating clean, a month of doing anything was out of my league. I would manage 2 weeks just fine. After that something would just snap.
I have tried all the techniques to force or trick myself into completing a 30-day program. Putting up a calendar to strike out each day as I go, setting a reminder on my phone, getting a buddy to join me along and even setting a big fat reward at the end of the program. Nothing ever worked for me.
So the conclusion I came up with — one just cannot plan for 30 days. It is not possible to predict what unexpected thing will come up.
My frustration would increase when I looked at other people who easily conquered their 30-day challenges. There are so many 30-day challenges all over the internet with zillions of people taking them and waving their flags of completion all over the social media.
A couple of months ago I came across an article — ‘Divorce yourself from your results’ and it changed the way I felt about my failures.
The problem was not with the time duration. The problem was that I was fixated on the result. For me, the goal was not doing something for 30 days. The result I was looking for was what I would achieve by doing something for 30 days.
My fixation on the final outcome was the issue.
For example, I should lose x K.G. weight after completing this 4-week workout program. The goal was not completing the 4-week program but losing that amount of weight by completing the workout program.
My 4-week program would go something like this. I would start all pumped up and focused. On completing the first week, I would weigh myself. The number on the scale would not be where I hoped it would. I would get stricter with the workouts, push harder and force myself to do some extra physical activity. The weighing day after 2nd week would pull me down and low. Going into the third week I would be disappointed and lack motivation. In my third week, something always came up. A late night at the office or extra chore at home or a visitor or something else — something which would ‘force’ me to skip the next day’s workout. Eventually, I would not complete week 3 and never even take at attempt at week 4.
After reading the article, I thought I was ready to tackle another 30-day challenge. So I picked up a 30-day running challenge. The rule — run every day, even if it’s just 1 K.M.
The goal was to complete 30 days of running. No measurement of speed, distance or weight loss. Just the run. I was not sure if I would follow through without some level of accountability. So, I decided to post my daily running update on Instagram.
The result — 30 days — 30 run — 82.9 K.M.
I managed to wake up and be out the road running no later than 6:15 every morning. Some days I would force myself to wake up, run, come back and go back to bed to complete my sleep. On Sundays, we leave for church at 7 a.m. That meant that I would have to run and finish showering by 6:45 a.m. Guess what? I did. Every day was some kind of fight — either with sleep or sore legs or a tight schedule.
I was extremely focused and motivated. Why shouldn’t I be? I was winning every day. I was meeting my target each day — running.
Yes, I did measure my weight a couple of times — old habits die hard. No surprises I was disappointed and cranky on those days. But the high of hitting my target each day kept me going.
Final Words
If you find yourself failing in following through your plan, no matter big or small, let go of the end result. Just focus on the plan.
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