Interested in Broadening your Horizon? Yes? How about a 30-Day-Challenge?
How long ago is it that you said "yeah, I wanna...I should...maybe sometime..."
Enough! No more sometimes and shoulds!
The idea is that you pick something that you´ve been wanting to do for a while but just didn´t have the motivation to do.
Ever wanted to learn Spanish? Or French? Or Chinese?
Test how much of a fraidy-cat you are, go to your limits? Go paragliding, rafting, Bungee-jumping?
Write a book?
Whatever it may be that you just didn´t have the energy to do yet, or the drive - pick something and - here´s the important part - make someone watch you and pay if you don´t do it.
http://www.stumbleupon.com/su/1GDCAp/:eEOH9YWS:qRp7Klbo/www.highexistence.com/30-challenges-for-30-days/
So one evening, Helen stumbled upon this page, and she showed it to me.
We ended up doing the picture thing, the no-alcohol thing and the write-a-novel thing.
Here´s my experiences:
1. Take one picture every day, for one month
For reasons of convencience, I decided to just use my phone camera. The pictures I uploaded on whatsapp. It was interesting how you start asking yourself the question, "what is going to be special/characteristic for this day? what thing would I like to remember, or share?" and you start seeing the special thing in everyday life. Looking at the album now, it´s a mixture of a love declaration to Berlin and to my life.
Here´s the pictures: https://picasaweb.google.com/103325628679105830699/30daysPics?authuser=0&authkey=Gv1sRgCNbmloG8s9C2Vg&feat=directlink
2. Don´t drink alcohol, for three weeks
I thought this was going to be the hardest. I usually drink a glass of wine here and there, or a beer with my friends in the evenings. I´m usually the one who always says yes to alcohol. Going cold turkey would mean having lots less fun, I thought.
Soon I actually felt happy about being relieved from peer pressure. Not drinking equals being a bore, I thought. Well, now I had a good excuse. Yes, there were the big partys where I would feel a bit left out sitting in a corner with my Club Mate and regret not being able to join in. But that was one moment in all the time. Plus: Alcohol has so many empty calories. With summer coming up and working on your bikini shape it helps cutting the alcohol!
It certainly has taught me that saying No to alcohol (especially during the week) doesn´t hurt. I actually liked it a lot. Now I try only drinking on special occasions, and so far I feel really good about it.
3. Write a novel of 30.000 words
That means: 1000 words a day. About one and a half pages of type-writing.
Easy, I thought.
It´s the one bet that´s gonna make me lose my smartphone for one month.
Damn.
Finding a topic was okay. Getting started, not that easy, but I soon got into it and the words started flowing onto the virtual paper. Day one, day two....ok.
Day three...lagging behind.
Day four...chatching up on two days.
Day five: say fuck you and do better things with the 45 mins each day this cost me.
Résumé is, nevertheless: a different appreciation of literature. Once you know how hard it is to write and what your own writing style looks like, you get a different view on other writing, start seeing it through different eyes.
Overall roundup: I wanna do more challenges! They´re fun! You learn stuff about yourself and push yourself to do things, but it also showed me my borders.
Ah well, one month without smartphone here I come...
But also...
What´s next?
Enough! No more sometimes and shoulds!
The idea is that you pick something that you´ve been wanting to do for a while but just didn´t have the motivation to do.
Ever wanted to learn Spanish? Or French? Or Chinese?
Test how much of a fraidy-cat you are, go to your limits? Go paragliding, rafting, Bungee-jumping?
http://www.stumbleupon.com/su/1GDCAp/:eEOH9YWS:qRp7Klbo/www.highexistence.com/30-challenges-for-30-days/
So one evening, Helen stumbled upon this page, and she showed it to me.
We ended up doing the picture thing, the no-alcohol thing and the write-a-novel thing.
Here´s my experiences:
1. Take one picture every day, for one month
For reasons of convencience, I decided to just use my phone camera. The pictures I uploaded on whatsapp. It was interesting how you start asking yourself the question, "what is going to be special/characteristic for this day? what thing would I like to remember, or share?" and you start seeing the special thing in everyday life. Looking at the album now, it´s a mixture of a love declaration to Berlin and to my life.
Here´s the pictures: https://picasaweb.google.com/103325628679105830699/30daysPics?authuser=0&authkey=Gv1sRgCNbmloG8s9C2Vg&feat=directlink
2. Don´t drink alcohol, for three weeks
I thought this was going to be the hardest. I usually drink a glass of wine here and there, or a beer with my friends in the evenings. I´m usually the one who always says yes to alcohol. Going cold turkey would mean having lots less fun, I thought.
Soon I actually felt happy about being relieved from peer pressure. Not drinking equals being a bore, I thought. Well, now I had a good excuse. Yes, there were the big partys where I would feel a bit left out sitting in a corner with my Club Mate and regret not being able to join in. But that was one moment in all the time. Plus: Alcohol has so many empty calories. With summer coming up and working on your bikini shape it helps cutting the alcohol!
It certainly has taught me that saying No to alcohol (especially during the week) doesn´t hurt. I actually liked it a lot. Now I try only drinking on special occasions, and so far I feel really good about it.
3. Write a novel of 30.000 words
That means: 1000 words a day. About one and a half pages of type-writing.
Easy, I thought.
It´s the one bet that´s gonna make me lose my smartphone for one month.
Damn.
Finding a topic was okay. Getting started, not that easy, but I soon got into it and the words started flowing onto the virtual paper. Day one, day two....ok.
Day three...lagging behind.
Day four...chatching up on two days.
Day five: say fuck you and do better things with the 45 mins each day this cost me.
Résumé is, nevertheless: a different appreciation of literature. Once you know how hard it is to write and what your own writing style looks like, you get a different view on other writing, start seeing it through different eyes.
Overall roundup: I wanna do more challenges! They´re fun! You learn stuff about yourself and push yourself to do things, but it also showed me my borders.
Ah well, one month without smartphone here I come...
But also...
What´s next?
Kommentare