Week 52 done and dusted! I have officially completed my first year-long challenge and I feel proud of myself! It was my 3rd attempt at doing a year-long one. My first attempt was in 2015 and was about 3 months long. My second attempt was in 2019 and was called Transformation Day: ‘Taking Relentless Action’. This challenge involved doing a video every day and I did 249 days and made 144 videos which were posted on YouTube. So, it feels great to finally complete my first full year challenge and even better that I am now a year and a half ahead in my life. I know that I would not be where I am today if I had not done this challenge ‘Passionately Failing Towards Success’.
When I reflect and watch the videos of my second attempt it was years later that I was able to see my progress and see how far I had come. I look back at those videos now and I get emotional to see the struggles I was encountering. At the same time, I feel proud of myself that I committed to improving my life and I am happy to say that I have achieved most of the things I was working towards. As I reflected on this year's challenge it has been even more evident and my progress more extreme. I can see why this challenge has moved me forward faster and bigger. So, for my Final Blog of my challenge I wanted to share a few reasons why challenges work? My Key Takeaways and why I am a year and a half ahead in my life.
WHY CHALLENGES WORK?
Tests And Challenges Our Abilities
Challenges allow us to test what we believe we are capable of. It puts us in new situations, and we come across new experiences and lessons that strengthen our personal growth
The Opportunity to Consistently Monitor Your Progress
Life can be busy; we juggle so many things that any changes can be so small that we don’t see the progress. When you are working on your goals, the more you can consistently monitor them and check in, the more you will complete them. Every challenge I have done has allowed me to improve on the next one. This challenge I made a commitment to myself to complete it. The Blogs gave me the opportunity to reflect on what I was working through that week and what I had learnt. Then with that information I took it into the next week to improve how I completed that week.
Commitment to Ourselves
Having done many challenges beforehand I know the importance of them and how much it allows me to progress and grow. It is important that we prioritize ourselves and consistently commit to working towards the person God destined us to be.
Being Honest to Ourselves
These challenges are confronting, overwhelming, scary and difficult. However, they allow you to review, analyze, reflect on what is working in your life and what is not working. It encourages you to have to look at your life and see what is potentially holding you back, what you are thinking that maybe potentially contradicting what you actually want. This allows you to begin to make changes and choices that will move you towards what you actually want in your life. You can’t hide anymore.
Doing What Scares Us All the Time
This year was all about making decisions that scared me. When things scare us our first inclination is to go the other way, not head right into the belly of the beast. This year I did things that scared me all the time and on the daily. This allowed me to make decisions that I would not have made for months, sometimes even years. Doing things that are scary has helped me fear doing them less. I feel more confident to keep challenging myself to do more and to go bigger!
Documenting Our Journey
Being able to document your journey whether through journals, posts, videos, blogs allow you to review and see how much you are progressing. It offers you a clear report and insight into why you changed or why you have or have not progressed. It allows you to celebrate how much you have grown and encourages you to keep going when things seem hopeless.
MY KEY TAKEAWAYS
Commitment and Accountability
Going public with my commitment although extremely vulnerable allows me the platform to hold myself accountable.
Do Things That Scare Me All the Time
Anytime something scares me has become a good indication to do it!
Consistently Monitor & Documentation Process
Monitoring my progress through writing blogs, posts, lives & videos has been key to seeing my progress. It has allowed me to see what is and is not working quicker, easier and in real time!
WHY I AM A YEAR AHEAD?
I would not be as far ahead in my life without all the challenges I have been doing over the last 10 years. Each one was a steppingstone teaching me in a practical way how to be better and do better. This year's challenge was the most epic of all because I chose a theme that I knew would scare me. I knew it would confront many areas of my life that I had previously avoided or worked slowly towards. What it did teach me was that I am capable of more than I ever thought. This challenge has been my greatest lesson on what I can achieve and how big I can dream. Building confidence is not an overnight process but an ongoing one. I am looking forward to beginning my next challenges.
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