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Do you want to consciously shape your destiny? According to Mahatma Gandhi:
“Your beliefs become your thoughts, Your thoughts become your words, Your words become your actions, Your actions become your habits, Your habits become your values, Your values become your destiny.”
I first started challenging myself to monthlong challenges, not so much for personal growth but as a part of my spiritual discipline. My first yoga teacher taught me about the importance of having a daily practice and introduced me to the middle path. He taught everything moderation, “even in excess.” Years later my Tantra teacher warned me not to become attached to spiritual practices and a daily discipline can be a type of addiction. I believe this teaching is why Tantra is often referred to as the “pathless path.” I learned to devote myself to a practice until I had it deep in my body and then switch it out for a new practice, often on the new moon.
Through the years, I’ve taken dozens of 30 day challenges (actually 28 days) with mixed results. Only recently it has become a growing trend in popular culture. Scientists argue about whether it takes 21 days or 90 to form a good habit but they agree that it takes even longer to break a bad one. Regardless, I’ve found these challenges can be a profound training ground for creating lasting change.
You can learn more about the 30 day challenge movement by reading Steve Pavlina’s website or watching this fun and brief (3 min) TED Talk:Try something new for 30 days by Matt Cutts who advocates that small challenges are more sustainable than drastic ones.
Perhaps the most extreme 30 day challenge was taken by Morgan Spurlock in the award winning documentary: Super Size Me. In 2003, he conducted an experiment in which he ate three McDonald’s meals per day for 30 days. Personally, I prefer challenges that help me become a better person, but I suppose his sacrifice was justified by the awareness it raised for the health and well being of the rest of humanity.
In March 2015 I took the challenge of capturing one photo of a flower per day, and posting it on Facebook. Perhaps this was one of my most successful challenges because of the social accountability. 
Following is a list of some of the other 30 day challenges that I’ve tried, some of them take up to 90 minutes and some as little as five minutes a day. The key is to tell your friends, journal about your progress and if you miss a day, simply re-commit and do it the following morning.
A whole new month is about to begin–which one are you drawn to:
- Journaling, (Morning Pages: 3 page minimum.)
- Meditation (20 minutes of TM.)
- Reading (1 chapter per day.)
- Yoga at home (Minimum: 12 Sun Salutations per day.)
- Hot Yoga (Many studios have a discount for their 30 day challenge)
- Daily Forgiveness practice (Ho’oponopono chant and meditation)
- Perform a Fire Ritual
- Media-fast where you don’t watch TV (or Netflix) for 30 days
- Rewrite your goals each day
- Take time to practice self compassion and self-love (Shawn Roop wrote a great book on 28 days to self love)
- Write positive affirmations.
- Write a to do list and/or plan your day
- Write your dreams down in a journal each morning
- Learn to lucid dream
- Write a novel in November (50,000 word minimum, check out: Nanowrimo.com)
- Go for a run
- Take a walk
- Jump in the ocean daily
- Keep a nightly gratitude list
- Go money free or live on a strict budget for a month.
- Byron Katie Turn arounds each day to really examine your limiting beliefs
- Learn a new vocabulary word every day
- Go vegetarian
- Go vegan
- Cut out the caffeine for a month
- Refrain from drugs, alcohol, and/or sugar
- Pick one bad habit you already have and stop it for 30 days
- No gossiping for 30 days (I did this challenge while working with an ashram, my spiritual teacher at the time, proposed a consequence of 24 hours of silent retreat every time I broke my commitment.)
- Go without a car, learn to bike/walk/carpool
- Learn a new vocabulary word
Here are some other 30 day challenges which I honestly, have no intention of doing, but they might call to you:
- Stop social media or go internet free for a month.
- Spend 30 days eating raw food.
- Do a brain training puzzle a day like sudoku, crosswords or something from lumosity.
- Take a nap.
- Learn a new magic trick a day.
- Knit a scarf in a month
- Face a new fear every day … push yourself put of your comfort zone
- Talk to one stranger each day
- Research a different religion or philosophy every day for a month.
- Practice (at least) one completely selfless act each day
Here are some other 30 day challenges which I look forward to trying, perhaps in 2016:
- Read 1 poem per day
- Write a poem
- Learn a new language
- Watch a Ted Talk
- Learn a new instrument
- Write a love letter and send it to a new person
- Go without talking for a month or visit a silent retreat.
- Cooking: Try a new recipe each day
- Draw a picture
- Learn to paint
Next month I invite you to join me for a 30 day challenge. Personally, I’m excited to take on an extra challenging challenge which I have attempted 2 times before without success:
I hereby declare that for the month of February 2016, I will “stop suffering.” According to Tony Robbins suffering is a state of mind. It occurs when someone has a negative focus and it is a type of self obsession about how the universe happening to you, instead of for you. Suffering is a choice. So I commit to focus on the positive instead. I will not complain, blame or bitch for the entire moth. I will not say anything negative about anyone. Even when things go wrong, I resolve to practice looking for the positive and making the most of every situation.
Even though I consider myself a highly positive person, I’ve been surprised that this is one of the most difficult 30 day challenges I’ve ever taken. As much as I love to practice affirmations, gratitude lists and give compliments, negative sentence seem to slip out. I also happen to be a highly emotional woman who loses control of her thoughts/feelings when triggered, stressed or challenged. So this month, I resolve to double down on the appreciations and lighten up on all things that stress me.
If you’re called to “Stop Suffering” or any of the other challenges on my list, please comment below or on My Facebook Group. Pick a challenge and set a time to do it each day, and stick with it! Tell your friends, keep a journal, and if you fail or forget for a day, just pick yourself up, brush yourself off and dive in as soon as possible.
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