30 Day Challenges (and competition in general) can create ways for working together and by working together we go farther together and do more when we are invested in others and with others.
In 2014, I took the challenge of National Novel Writing Month. It wasn’t my first attempt, but this year I invested in the local group and an online group to help me stay focused. By the end of November, I had written a novel and then some. I used the same process the next year to write over one MILLION words in a year.
It’s not easy to reach for the stars. It’s impossible to do it if you stay where you are. Challenges push you outside of your comfort place and joining others in those challenges gives you the momentum you need to fly.
“There is no challenge more challenging than the challenge to improve yourself.”
– Anonymous
We are designed to work together because together we are stronger and better than anything we could be on our own. Challenges bring us together – in friendly competition and in support of each other.
In this article, we’re going to break down 30 day challenges, what they are, how to get started, and how they can bring us together. We will walk away with an understanding of the importance and power that come with investing in each other and investing together. These challenges give us a platform to go farther together and an opportunity to invest with focused determination.
The Challenge of Going It Alone
I raised three boys, homeschooling them while launching a full-time writing career, and I did it all from the back corner of 40 acres. In the beginning, I reached out to others to find my way through and to stay engaged with other grown-ups.
As the boys got older, we relied less on others. We had our routine and stuck to it. Besides, we were down to one car and my husband needed it to get to work. Not meeting with others left me dependent on myself to get it all done. I lost my connections with people and with it my motivation (and accountability) to do what I knew I needed to be doing.
I quit getting it done, even when I tried. I jumped into National Novel Writing Month for several years in a row but always fell short of the goal. It wasn’t until I connected with others that I won. I tried being healthier but found myself more invested in cheat days than healthy days. It wasn’t until I joined a group in a challenge that I saw major changes in my health and lifestyle.
I do better with others along for the ride.
I began looking online for ways to get connected and discovered Twitter Chats. #GoalChat challenged me to set goals each week (and to tell others about those goals). #DaretoBe dared me to be more and offered support to see it through. It was like having virtual coffee with friends once a week with the added ingredient of encouraging topic focuses. They dared me to get involved with 30 day challenges
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This article was written by Kathryn Lang and originally published on WordPress News and Updates from iThemes – iThemes.