28 days is the perfect amount of time to challenge yourself in. It’s enough time to really experience what you’re trying too accomplish, but it’s not so much time that you’ll give up half way through (cause, hey, what’s another 14 days anyway?)
Each challenge is not meant to be a goal you smash through and raise your arms triumphantly. It’s supposed to be a struggle. It’s supposed to give you a real run for your money.
Small challenges are great starting points to really get your competitive and motivational juices flowing. Sometimes a seemingly unrelated challenge can trigger a greater desire within you. I encourage you to participate in the challenges below (and send me the results!) or create your own, share it with me, and we’ll get together for a Skype chat or video interview if you’d like!
Current Challenge:
Soon.
Previous Challenges:
Dates: October 4th, 2011 to October 31st, 2011
Details: Earn $1000 in 28 days through freelance work that is NOT your primary profession (ie, day job!)
Current Earnings: $0
Outcome: Failure.
Lessons Learned: Wow. Logo design is a competitive field (especially with spec work!)
Even though I totally bombed this challenge I am really happy I set this goal up for myself. Through the weeks of trying to submit my entries to different logo design contests, I continued to refer to tutorials online. One recurring theme I saw online was that most designers started their designs with good ol’ paper and pencil drawings.
Until I connected these dots, I had forgotten how much I loved to draw. I used to draw a lot as a 10-13 year old kid, but when high school hit I lost touch with that creative outlet. Since this challenge, I’ve started drawing again and, wow, it feels so good!
If I didn’t give this challenge so much effort, I would have never reunited with my decade-old hobby!
Dates: August 9, 2011 to September 8, 2011
Previous experience: About 2 miles in 20-30 minutes
Best Result: 5.1 miles in 45 minutes
Outcome: Failure.
Lessons Learned: My mind is great at BSing me, telling me to give up, and convincing me that I’m tired. And I’m great at telling my mind that it’s a damn liar.
Even though I’ve failed to meet my goal in 28 days, I’m not giving up. I will continue to run multiple days every week until I meet my original goal.
With that said, I don’t believe this is a total failure. Never, not in 100 years, would I have let myself believe that I could run over 5 miles – and certainly not at 6.8mph! What I’ve learned through this challenge is that physical fatigue and physical exhaustion are very different – and I’ve learned to tell them apart!
Leaderboard:
Readers who have participated in this challenge, and their rankings!
