“Success is nothing more than a few simple disciplines, practiced every day.”
– Jim Rohn
During the month of June I decided to set myself a personal challenge. In this blog post I’ll share with you what I did, why I did it, and what lessons I learned along the way.
The Challenge
So for the duration of 30 days, I decided to follow a consistent, daily schedule with an emphasis on nutrition/health, and also on those “few simple disciplines” Jim Rohn said.
So during June I decided to eliminate from my diet:
- Meat
- Coffee
- Alcohol
- Dairy
- Wheat/gluten
In addition to these, I decided to be going for a run every day, to meditate twice a day, and a few more other “simple disciplines”.
My reasons
I had many reasons for taking up such a challenge: The first one was self-discipline: If we don’t rule our mind and set the rules, our mind will set the rules for us. And I decided that June, the last month before half of 2018 was over, I will take the reigns and set my rules.
The second reason was to determine whether I would have enhanced energy levels or other improvements in my performance, concentration, and clear thinking. All five dietary habits that I eliminated are acidic foods and drinks. Of course there is still no unequivocal agreement on whether there are health hazards on eating meat or dairy, or even alcohol – still, the prospect of going pretty much vegan for a month was very tempting. As for coffee, I only did it to prove to myself that I can stop drinking it if I decide to. I love and I’m grateful for my morning cup of coffee!
The reason for the daily run and meditation was because I wanted to fulfil one of my daily affirmations: “I exercise and meditate every single day.”
The experience of the challenge
The first observation is that I found the challenge easy. Fair enough, I did the “Dry January” this year so I knew going without alcohol wouldn’t be difficult. And anyway, I hardly eat any dairy or wheat; as for meat, I do enjoy my steak or lamb chops, but on occasion.
After a week I was so much used to all the elements of the challenge, so I was actually looking forward to each day. I did miss having my morning cup of coffee, but it was nothing more than a desire for pleasure, rather than the need to have a caffeine boost.
The reward
It’s always important to reward ourselves for achieving a goal or conquering a challenge. Yes, the achievement feels great – yet, the art of fulfilment feels even greater!
My reward was to arrange to jump out of an airplane soon 😉 I haven’t arranged it yet, but when it happens it will inspire an stimulating blog post!
What I learned
The sense of achievement when fulfilling a goal, and the person you become by fulfilling it is the most important lesson. With every new habit or practice/routine comes an initial period of a certain involved willpower. However, give some time and then the power of momentum picks up and makes it effortless. I was actually looking forward to the daily morning run, or to figure out some variety in the daily meals!
My improvement in energy levels and mental efficiency was inconsistent. There were days that I felt very energetic, there were other days that I felt I needed a nap (or a coffee) in the afternoon. So no clear conclusions there.
I believe challenging ourselves, stepping outside of our comfort zone, doing something that we haven’t done before, even rearranging our daily routines, is a necessary step to personal growth. Let me reiterate Jim Rohn:
“Success is nothing more than a few simple disciplines, practiced every day.”