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.