30 Day Challenge #1: Meditation

I find it really funny that I have a draft for the 30 Day Challenge #1: Meditation that explains why I wanted to start this challenge and today (11/11/2015), which is also a day where different countries celebrate what we consider a day when "peace", to whatever degree and form, started. 

This is my draft for the first article about me starting the Meditation Challenge.

"30 days of meditation.

I'm going to be honest with all of you right now, I'm not very confident with this 30 day challenge.
"Aww. Why? Why would you say that even if you haven't even started? What's wrong with trying?"
But any late 20 adult will tell you that at this day and age - it is so difficult to just "pause" and meditate. More so to do absolutely nothing.
Yes, I will embark in this 30 day challenge of mindfulness and tranquility and dabbling on just taking time for myself to focus on me, my breath and nothing else.
So, what will the 30 day challenge look like?
It will be starting tomorrow, October 14th and will end on November 12th. I will start with 1 minute of meditation (starting point) and end with 30 minutes of meditation on the last day.
I will be letting all of you know from time to time how this journey is going - how I feel about it and how it (hopefully) is changing me for the better.
I've attached a simple, 30 Day Challenge planner sheet, for this specific challenge.
This is something you can do - and start anytime - you just need to adjust the dates.
I've always wanted to do this and will finally embark and finish this task.
Tony"

Anyway, I changed the 30 Day Challenge tracking sheet that I used (but didn't post - silly). You can get my 30 Day Challenge #1: 1 Minute Meditation here.

P.S. I finished my 1 minute meditation. 29 days more. Looking forward to it.

Keep on Planning and Doing,

Tony

30 Day Challenge #1: Meditation (supposedly Day 27)

What I feared really did happen. My first challenge - meditating for 30 days - did not go how I positively wanted it to go. I didn't meditate after Day 7 and I feel bad about. I'm not going to make any excuses but will just honestly say - I did not do it. I didn't put more effort into actually succeeding with this first challenge.

Three things that I've been pondering over since I realized how I've forgotten about the whole challenge.


1. Following the Plan
I made an actual calendar just for this challenge. I printed it out and all. But, as how it is already under a pile of paperwork, at home, under my desk. It did not serve its purpose. I provided myself with all the necessary tools to succeed in this challenge but then I let life overwhelm me. Which in a sense, is a huge irony with the purpose and benefits of meditation.

I'm going to go at it again - I assure you. I'm not giving up. But the challenge will be done differently this time.

2. Starting small. 
From the get go, I've laid out a number of fears before even getting a week into the challenge.
I need to always add one more minute. I have to put a timer and not break my state of calmness. I need to do it first thing in the morning. At the end of the challenge, I will be feeling so much better than how I am now.
I've essentially set up myself with a whole lot of factors to make a 30 day challenge, many times more difficult than what it truly was to start with.

I started the challenge with a goal in mind - I will achieve this small win and move on to greater things.

3. Owning the Challenge.
I'd like to think that the tools that were set up to complete the challenge of meditating for 30 days were adequate. My mindset, however, made a little detour. I started the challenge with a part of me saying, "it is alright to fail this challenge, since you can always repeat it". This is true, but this also justifies all the other "things" that I've started and did not finish. Or even things I've finished but could've done better at the end.

I will be starting the challenge again tomorrow (11/11/2015). But it will be a 30 Day Challenge: 1 minute Meditation.

Have you experience a similar "fail" like this? I'm sure for some of you, this is a simple matter. But for myself - like what I said - this is a small win that will serve as a stepping stone for greater challenges to tackle.