It’s been four months, so I figured it would be a good time to provide an update on how the 30-day challenges are going. I’ve just been plugging away and not thinking about documenting the experience.

I always appreciate doing 30-day challenges because they keep me from becoming complacent in my day-to-day life when dropping into the rut of routine could be so incredibly easy. The days would pass by without a second thought, and that’s not what I want for myself.

In January, I set the goal of movement every day. I was coming off a big trip at the beginning of December, and the holidays can sometimes throw a wrench in a well-oiled machine. While I was never completely inactive, I wasn’t doing as much as I would have liked. What I found with this particular challenge is that I don’t really prefer that extreme either. There’s something to be said for a rest day where there is no pressure to do anything, and I can just be. I was honestly ready for February to arrive just, so I could truly have a rest day every now and again. Oddly enough, I don’t take many because I really do enjoy moving my body, but when I need one, I take one. You know what they say: “a body in motion stays in motion.” I know this has been true for me. January kicked off quite a new way of life for me in that regard. I’ve always worked out consistently, but I was never really one to move for the sake of moving outside of the workouts. I appreciate who I have become with this.

Moving into February, I did continue to move almost every day, but like I said, when I needed a rest day, I’d take one. What I added on for this month was the challenge to drink 90 ounces of water each day. Anyone that knows me knows that hydration is incredibly important to me. I never go under 64 ounces in a day, but with all the activity I was doing and the intensity of my workouts, I figured added water would be beneficial. As long as it was a challenge, it was fairly easy though there were a few days where I was chugging water late in the day because I’d realized I’d fallen behind. I’d love to say I’ve kept it up, but I definitely haven’t.  Some days are better than others, but overall this is not one I’ve stuck with. And honestly, I can’t really say I’ve felt a difference either way. It didn’t really feel different to add the water, and it didn’t impact me to take it away in any way that I can feel. I found that really interesting. I figured it would make me feel so different that I would have to stick with it because I would immediately feel a difference if I didn’t. Nope. So here we are.

For March, I tasked myself with adding a session of stretching every evening before bed. Now this one I still do pretty regularly. This feels so much better than I imagined it would. It helps relax me and prepare me for sleep. Oddly enough, I find that I’m more flexible at that time than I am after my morning workouts when I do my first stretching session of the day. I wasn’t expecting that. It feels good to sit in poses with time to let myself sink into them. Even more interesting is that it kind of automatically put me into a second meditation of the day as well. I just found that as I was on the floor stretching, I naturally moved into a seated position and meditated.  This has been the perfect way to unwind every day.

Lastly, for April, I wanted to walk a mile every day. When I set up these challenges, it was before I had tasked myself with moving every day, and I thought this would be helpful. Turns out getting a mile a day is incredibly easy. When it was most helpful was on the days I worked from home. It can be really easy for me to sit down at my desk and not move. In the office, I purposely get up and walk around just because of the environment, and there are things I need to do that make me get up. At home, everything is right there, so I know there were days that I didn’t even get a quarter mile of steps in. This forced me to get up and walk every day, and that was really great. On the days I work from home, this is still something I do now to make sure I’m not completely sedentary all day.

So now I am moving into the next four months of challenges, and I’m excited to see the way they help me grow and expand. I like having something for myself to accomplish every day while I take stock of how it impacts me- or doesn’t. These always set the stage for me to learn something new about myself while I find things that work for me or don’t. Things that I want to do more of, explore more, or not. Life is about continuing to grow and become more of ourselves every day. Never know until you try.