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Description: Jump on board the Motivate Me! train this season to get your head and heart back in the game and reengage in life again. Try a challenge. Take a small step. Commit to doing something daily. Reinstate a small routine. Get engaged in something. Let it inspire you.
MM535- Taking on a 30-Day Challenge
Hello, everybody, and welcome to this week’s episode of Motivate Me!
It’s Me! Time where we are working on coming back from flat.
Before we start, let’s get into the right headspace. Let’s engage in the idea that this is “Me! Time” – where YOU are the priority.
Let’s sit in that idea for a second.
Let’s take two slow, deep breaths. Inhale some fresh air, exhale the old.
Understand that everything you want to do is only a decision away.
OK, let’s prepare for today’s focus.
Today’s Focus: Taking on a 30-Day Challenge
I’m not somebody who is normally big on taking challenges.
But when I was trying to work myself out of the funk I was in that was filled with negative self-talk and procrastination that never materialized, something as simple as a “New Year, New You” 30-Day Challenge really helped change my headspace.
To find the specific challenge I did by FabStory, you can visit my Motivate Me! with Lynette Renda Instagram, it’s posted there.
This challenge was just something fun that I committed to do daily for myself. To show myself that I could and would commit to something on a daily basis. Let’s remember, we were in the thick of the quarantine here, just coming off of the holidays with the second surge of Covid-19 and the new strain in full force. It was a very scary time.
My mindset was shaky, at this point. I was trying not to think about the fact that we couldn’t plan anything, that we had no future in sight. No vacations, no plays, no concerts. Not knowing when we would be able to go anywhere for the holidays or see family. And we had just moved out of state. I was afraid to go to a doctor’s appointment! Like everyone else, I was nervous about getting the virus, and I was sad and fearful for the people who had it or lost loved ones from it. The world was insane and there was fighting everywhere: in the streets, on the news, on social media.
And on top of all that, I felt guilty. Guilty because we weren’t suffering physically or financially. Guilty for being so down and not feeling like I had a right to be so down. I felt selfish feeling sad when other people were out their losing lives and businesses. The only thing that made me feel better about this was knowing that I was not alone; that so many of us were feeling the same way.
But, because of all of this, I was eating and drinking too much. I was watching too much television. Spending too much time on my phone. I could have been writing my book, but I wasn’t. I could have been walking, but I wasn’t even doing that. My groceries were being delivered, so I didn’t even get out and move around on those nice big shopping days that would always push my body a little.
Everyone else in my family had important jobs they were working from home doing, and my life had boiled down to making meals, doing dishes, and busying myself. Not what I was used to at all.
So, doing this simple 30-day challenge got me into doing different things, and it got me in the mindset that small steps were important. What’s funny is that I’m the type person that usually attacks things in one big bite, instead of several small ones. Doing anything slowly has always been torture for me, not recently, though. I was just dragging. This year slowed me down, waaay down, and this challenge helped pick me up again.
Over Christmas, I had made a vow to reengage in life, and I had to start slowly to do that. So as last episode discusses, I started by making myself a priority. Then, I took responsibility for my own happiness, and I let go of feeling responsible for the happiness of others.
The challenge is what I did next and it gave me a little smattering of all sorts of things that I enjoy: “List what you are grateful for,” “Cook a healthy meal today,” “Pick up a new book to read,” “Message someone special,” and my favorite: “Eat pizza”!
Something I chose to do was not look ahead to see what the following day would require of me, I let each day be a small surprise. The only day that didn’t work out well was on “Watch the sunrise” day! I also shared my daily challenge with my husband because it was fun to talk about what I was grateful for, what healthy meal I decided to make, what book I was reading, which special person I’d decided to message.”
So, this was my experience, but now we need to look into what speaks to you? There are many challenges you can do! Here are some ideas: exercise challenges, like abdominal workouts, burpees, or squats. There are also meditation challenges where you meditate so many minutes a day, or writing challenges where you write so many pages in a month, or even home decluttering and organizational challenges. There are also cooking challenges, weight loss challenges, quilting or knitting… all sorts of crafts. It’s endless.
I think you are getting the point. If you are jumping on board the Motivate Me! train this season, you are here to get your head and heart back in the game and reengage in life again. Try a challenge. Take a small step. Commit to doing something daily. Reinstate a small routine. Get engaged in something. Let it inspire you.
Whatever your interest, do something you find fulfilling, this will shift your energy and give you something to look forward to on a daily basis.
Listen, we are coming back from flat. We are doing it one day at a time, on our own time. Just keep reinforcing your mental and physical boundaries that make you a priority, and then make this daily commitment part of that. You got this, and I’m here for it.
Come chat with me on social media! You can find me on Instagram and Facebook at Motivate Me! with Lynette Renda, and you can join our private Facebook group: Motivate Me! Support System to speak with me there.
If you are enjoying this podcast, please subscribe and leave a review… and share it with your friends if you know that they are working to get their mojo back, too!
I am going to leave you with some truth talk: We can sit in victim energy where we blame the world for how we’re feeling, and we can deflect our personal responsibility for restoring our happiness. Or we can emerge from this situation a stronger, wiser version of ourselves that is hell-bent on being engaged and bettering the world.
I am on the other side now, I have the map, and I want to take you there!
Remember, you Motivate Me!