Good-bye New Years Resolutions, Hello 30 Day Challenges

Good-bye New Years Resolutions and hello 30 day challenges!


I'm a huge fan of the sentiment that you can do absolutely anything... for 30 days. I came across this Ted Talk by Matt Cutts and felt thoroughly inspired. I completed several 30 day challenges in 2015/2016 after watching the video (giving up meat, keeping a gratitude journal, staying off of social media and giving up coffee) and each challenge has been a great experience. Instead of coming up with another new years resolution that I know I won't keep in 2017, I want to complete 12 30 day challenges - one a month for the entire year, and I am SO excited! At the end of each challenge I will write a post about how each of them went including how difficult or easy I found them, any tips and tricks I came up with along the way and what, if anything, I learnt from the experience.

Here are the challenges:

21 Day No Complain Challenge

I first read about this challenge here. This is a 21 day challenge that given its difficulty, may well take me 6 months to complete. I am a little intimidated by this one, but I feel ready to take it on. It'll really force me to stop complaining about the silly little things, and reconsider the vibe I am putting out there.

30 No Spending Challenge

This one was inspired by Cait Flanders who completed a year long shopping ban! A year is too long for me, but 30 days? I got this. It will be difficult but it will let me really consider what I spend my money on, and evaluate whether I think spending my money in the ways I have been is worth it or not. I wonder how much I will miss the little things I buy for myself?

30 Days of Forgiveness

This challenge will be full of deep breaths, and counting to 10; It will force me to be slow to anger, and quick to forgive. For 30 days I will try to be more understanding, calmer, practise more patience, and forgive immediately instead of waiting.

30 Days of Healthy Eating

It seems simple enough but it will mean 30 days of no coffee, no take outs, and no breakfast burritos. I'll let that last point sink in: no breakfast burritos. Whatever will I do?! I plan on spending 30 days fueling myself with delicious, simple and healthy foods, and learning some new recipes along the way.

30 Days of No Swearing

There is absolutely nothing wrong with swearing. In fact, I think swearing is bloody great. However because I do it somewhat frequently it will challenge me to switch up my vocabulary. For every swear word to leave my mouth I will be putting $1 in a 'swear jar' and at the end of the month whatever is in the jar will be donated to a charity/organization of my choice.

30 Day Self Care Challenge

30 days of focusing more on ME! Each day I will do something little to care for myself whether it is 10 minutes of meditation, taking a long hot shower, taking a nap, fixing myself a healthy smoothie or treating myself to a facemask, this month is all about self indulgence in the best way possible.

30 Days of Prayer

I am in no way religious, but I plan on completing a 30 day prayer challenge. Just because I am not religious does not mean that there isn't something to be taken away from this kind of a religious/spiritual experience.

30 Days of No Expectations

To the wind with those pesky expectations! Expectations are responsible for disappointment, and often times ruins otherwise perfectly great experiences and moments! For 30 days I will do my very best to walk into every situation with an open mind - no hopes, no expectations, no standards. I plan on welcoming whatever comes my way.

30 Days of Gratitude Journaling

I have already completed a 30 day gratitude journal challenge, but I think another round is just what I need. When you know at the end of the day you have to write a journal entry about all of the things you are grateful for, you start keeping your eyes open for the little things that matter instead of just letting them pass you by.

30 Day Morning Routine

Rise and shine! I've always felt that my mornings are wasted rushing around and trying not to miss my bus, but what if they weren't hectic, and busy? What if they were calm and peaceful, and filled with things I enjoy? For 30 days I plan on creating a morning routine that I will follow day in day out and even on the weekends.

30 Day Creativity Challenge

I've been saying for years now that I want to spend more of my time being creative, yet I never set time aside for creativity. These 30 days will be filled with drawing, painting, photography, new recipes, and embroidery. It'll push me outside of my comfort zone as I try to create without telling myself it isn't good enough.

30 Days of Ted Talks

I love Ted Talks. I spend a whole lot of my time on YouTube watching other people live their lives, instead of living mine so if I want to watch something, I should make it count. Ted Talks has so many wonderful videos that choosing only 30 of them will be difficult! Good thing I'll have an entire month to watch as many as I like.


There you have it - my 12 challenges for 2017! Now all that's left is deciding whether I want to map out when I will do each one ahead of time, or if I want to pick one as each month comes and goes. This certainly has me excited for the new year, and all the growth and learning I will get through these challenges!


Have you completed any 30 day challenges yourself?


M&M