I will keep this short and sweet. I didn’t meet my goal for finances or workouts. I did meet my goal in one crucial area, sodas.
Sodas have always been a nemesis for me. I know that they are extremely unhealthy. As a full-time freelancer, I was able to keep this in check. When I started my “away from the computer’ job, however, I felt into old ways and started drinking 2-3 sodas per day.
In addition to that, I had no savings and had stopped exercising.
As a result of the 30-day challenge, I created a challenge: Drink no more than 8 sodas. Save $150 in a savings account and do a number of pushups, situps, etc.
My Results: I only consumed 6 sodas in 30 days. I have only $.75 in savings and I didn’t reach any of the exercise goals.
My Success: Having said that, not everything was failure. As a result of the Forgotten Goals Challenge, I managed to exert strong persistence. About midway through this challenge, I had a lot of bad things happen: finances, job, health issues, family arguments, etc. I really, really wanted to quit. Normally, I would have. This time, though, I didn’t.
After drinking the 6 sodas around April 10th, I didn’t drink a drop of soda until May 1. I opened up a savings account that required I put in $25 per month to avoid a fee, which I did every paycheck. This created a pattern for me, that I follow to this day. I save 10% of everything I get over $10. I also began Paleo Fitness workouts and began doing calisthenics in preparation for kickboxing, which I will begin in June or July.
My Failures: My most obvious failures are that I did not save $150 in savings or complete the workouts as planned. In fact, I did miserably in the savings department. Something happened and I ended up using it all except for $.75. As far as workouts go, I think I may have done 20 situps and pushups over the 30 days. Other days I was ill or just too tired.
My next steps:
1. Financial: Increase income by at least $100 next month over the next 30 days.. Failing on the savings helped me realize that my income is insufficient for my expenses. I need to change this. With my temporary full-time job ending, it’s time to work on other options.
2. Sodas: Drink no more than 6 sodas over the next 30 days.. I’ve already consumed 2 (It was my birthday!), so I have 4 more to go. After this, I’ll be decreasing coffee.
3. Paleo Fitness or Kickboxing Workouts: Complete at least 6 bodyweight workouts over the next 30 days. The goal here is to just keep the exercise habit. So far, I have already done 3 this month.
