Challenge #3: Try Try Again.

I am leaving on the 7th of November for my new job in Northern, BC. Long hours, boring days and less that ideal circumstances are what I expect. I know this, because I have done this job before. I am not exactly excited, but I feel this is necessary.


I must stay positive. This small winter sacrifice could make all the difference in my dream to become a business owner. Jordan and I may be able to buy a home once this is finished. Much of our gear will be bought, and a large chunk of our dreaded student loans will be payed back. Jordan and I are working together to make these dreams happen. We are a team in this, and I know we can do it.

I have re-assessing my last challenge ("A Morning Rhythm"). I tried to do everything in a short amount of time before I left for work. Considering the fact that I was attempting to build a vast amount of new habits in coorelation with getting up early..... I have realized that challenge was unrealistic. I needed more time to allow my self to learn the rhythm, before I could gain momentum in it. Once I have a bit of a routine going I am sure that I would be able to get everything done quicker and smoother. However, I never actually got to that stage of the challenge.

At my new job, I know that I will be working for 12 hours straight. During those 12 hours, I will basically just be sitting around waiting for anyone to get injured. I have decided that I may as well attempt my "morning routine" challenge again.... minus the morning part. I believe that I will be able to finish the tasks throughout the entire day. This way, I won't feel the pressure of time constraints. No time constraints will make my adaptation to the habits much easier. I believe it will benefit me greatly. Eventually I would still like to do the routine in my morning, but allowing myself to slowly work up to that, will help me be more successful. Rather than jumping in to new territory with my eyes closed, I will have glimpsed what is in front of me.

All rules of the challenge will remain the same, minus the morning part. I will not always have access to a computer at my job..... but I will be sure to write in my journal and eventually transfer that to my blog space.


This new challenge commences on my first day of work (probably around November 10th). I will "Try Try Again" and see what happens. Wish me luck :)

Balance

I am quitting my latest challenge. Well, more realistically, I am putting it on hold.

I recently got a new job up in Northern British Columbia. I will be gone for most of the winter, but of course we are keeping our place here in Kimberley. Kimberley, my literal namesake, is my home. My mother must have had a vision of the future when she decided to name me after the little bavarian town that she liked.

I will be working with Jordan. This is the opportunity that Jordan and I have been visualizing and hoping for since we graduated from the ATBO program. It is going to allow us to pay off our student loans, save for a home/business and buy the rest of our needed outdoor gear for our chosen eventual professions (guiding). The gear is essential to the outdoor skills we need to practice in order to succeed in the adventure tourism industry. The rest is freedom. I feel really happy and blessed to have this opportunity!

Unfortunately, I have had a massive list of things that I need to get in order before I leave on November 7th. I have been trying to juggle working almost every day (at my two jobs) with preparing my home, pets and life for this change. To attempt to keep this challenge up while I am doing everything else, has been quite literally exhausting. I just do not have the extra energy.

I am okay with this choice. I know I will attempt this challenge again and I will succeed. I knew this challenge would be difficult for me, but with the added stress of this big lifestyle change I am facing, it feels nearly impossible. I have chosen to fail.

I recently read a great analogy about failure. It described that failure is just as perfect as success, because everything is equal. Everything needs balance. I am looking at my failure in this challenge as an important part of my learning process. My quest to consciously evolve will include both failure and success. Both will teach me something great. Both failure and success are important and necessary.

Coming Along Slowly

My challenge has not went as expected. I knew this challenge would be more difficult than the last, but I did not realize to the extent that it would be.

On the first morning, I initially woke up early enough to achieve the challenge, however... I pressed the snooze button three times. Of course, I ended up being rushed and did not finish all of the challenge segments. That morning I pretty much half-assed the challenge. I also tried to do the challenge by memory, without double checking everything on the list. It did not work well.

I learned not to break my first rule of the challenge. Getting up with sufficient time to do all of my tasks is key. I also found out that attempting two tasks at once is close to impossible for my concentration. I learned that trying to list off what I feel grateful for while at the same time that I am washing the dishes, does not allow me to truly feel each thought. I can not put energy into each thought unless I am focused strictly on that one idea. From now on, I am going to do each task individually. As well, I am going to write what I am grateful for in my journal as an alternative to just thinking it.

I found meditation extremely difficult. I tried to focus on my heart (based on a specific meditation I am attempting). I could stay focused for a few seconds at most... and then my mind would wander to the noises happening all over the house, to random thoughts, or to what I had to do that day. Hopefully, by the end of this challenge I will have improved on the skill of meditation. I want to gain insight into meditation practice. By the end of this challenge my goal is to stay focused for at least one minute. This lesson in concentration is huge and I feel it is important to my conscious evolution.

The second morning of my challenge, I was awoken at three am by a very distressed and upset man. Jordan needed to talk. He was feeling lonely, homesick, and his job situation was not as he expected. We talked for about and hour. It was good to talk to him, despite the very early morning call... and I was able to calm him down and help him to feel more positive. After the phone call I tried to get back to sleep for what seemed like ages. My mind kept racing about different environmental issues and some of my beliefs and values surrounding those. Jordan and I frequently discuss these topics and we talked about them that morning. Once I finally fell back asleep, there was no way that I was going to drag myself out of bed to do my routine! I felt slightly guilty during that day, but I was too tired to really care.

My third morning was much more of a success. It was helpful that I did not have to work until one in the afternoon. I was able to get everything on my list finished, minus the meditation and daily kindness... which I completely forgot. I put more effort into each task than I did on the first day and I did not feel rushed at all.

Important to note is that on the third morning, I learned that I need to give myself more leniency regarding how my schedule is laid out. I do not feel that I have to follow it step-by-step, as long as I still do each task. Rhythm is important, but obsession just adds unnecessary stress. I am still learning what rhythm will help me most in my life, and what schedule order I feel most successful....... and happy. More happiness is the ultimate goal here. A morning rhythm to help keep my mind and body healthy is one part on the road to a more spiritual life.

Today is my day off. I am going rock-climbing during the day and then to a rave party with twelve dj's playing tonight. Last night I went to see some live music and then some friends and I headed to the bar to dance. I do not drink alcohol often, and this occasion was not special... so there was no indulgence; but I am a little groggy from the late night. I expect to be tired tomorrow morning after two late nights in a row, but I am determined to do every task on my morning rhythm list regardless.

Challenge # 2: A Morning Rhythm

For a long time now I have felt that I needed more rhythm in my life. Currently I lack a stable morning routine to start my day off on the right foot. To combat this, I originally toyed with the idea of a challenge based on "becoming a morning person". After much deliberation, discussion and well.... procrastination, I have realized I have been seeking the schedule more than the early morning wake-up call.

At a later date, I still feel that I would like to learn to get up early in the morning. In the present though, I am going to focus on gaining some morning stability with a concrete habit of rhythm. This morning rhythm will be a great prelude if I ever do decide to go ahead with an early morning wake-up time.

The perfect time for this schedule plan has just presented itself. Jordan, my sweetheart, has left for work up in Northern British Columbia. He left early this morning and will be gone for an entire month. I will miss him dearly. While I am not excited about him leaving, I do feel that I will be more successful in this new challenge with only myself to focus on. By the time Jordan returns, I hope to have this morning routine ingrained as a new habit. I would like to keep adding to this schedule once I have a basic rhythm established

This challenge is going to be difficult. I know this, as attempting to gain a morning routine is something I have tried and failed at many times before. I believe this is my time to prove to myself that I can do it. I hope to not only gain confidence and more willpower, but health benefits also. I have incorporated both mind and body exercises into this challenge to strengthen my person.

Due to the nature of this challenge, I am still required to get up earlier than my usual allotted time to get ready for work.... but I will not have to get up so early that my body schedule is completely upside down. I am not going to require myself to get up at any specific time each day, but I will require that I give myself sufficient time to complete my morning routine, without feeling rushed.

Morning Schedule:

- get up with sufficient time
- make my bed, make a fire, open blinds, drink a glass of water
- do push-ups, sit-ups, pull-ups
- stretch or practice some yoga
- meditate
- shower, get dressed, hygiene, etc.
- make breakfast and lunch
- while I am eating, write my day to do list and decide on my "daily kindness"
- brush teeth, drink a glass of water
- wash dishes and while I do this, think/feel what I am grateful for in my relationship, in my life and also something special that I truly appreciate about Jordan
- take care of my pets and plants needs
- visualize my day and my life
- write in my journal, track my cycle and emotions
- leave for work

Specific Details About the Routine:

* I am guessing to allow for sufficient time for this schedule I must wake up about two to three hours before I have to be at work
* The push-ups, sit-ups and pull-ups serve the purpose of improving my climbing ability as well as warming up and waking up my body for stretching
* I may stretch, meditate and do yoga using any tools that I feel are necessary (ex: books, cd, video, etc.)
* A daily kindness is as it sounds. I want to fit in the ability to do something kind for someone else daily. The idea is a "pay-it-forward" philosophy.

Week 1: October 13th to 19th
- 10 push-ups, 20 sit-ups, 3 pull-ups
- stretch/yoga 10 minutes
- meditate for 5 minutes

Week 2: October 20th - 26th
- 15 push-ups, 25 sit-ups, 6 pull-ups
- stretch/yoga 15 minutes
- meditate for 5 minutes

Week 3: October 27th - November 2nd
- 22 push-ups, 30 sit-ups, 9 pull-ups
- stretch/yoga 20 minutes
- meditate for 10 minutes

Week 4: October 3rd - November 9th
- 30 push-ups, 40 sit-ups, 12 pull-ups
- stretch/yoga 25 minutes
- meditate for 10 minutes

Challenge Rules:

1. I will write about my experiences, thoughts and feelings of this challenge at least once per week.
2. I will compile a list of the "daily kindness'" that I do and publish them at the end of the challenge.
3. This challenge will be completed every day that I work. I am not required to do this routine on my days off. However, this only applies to two days off per week. For any reason that I have more than two days off per week, I must still only take two days off from this routine.
4. I will write about my visualizations at least twice during this challenge, but I do not feel that I am obligated to list them all for everyone to see. Being honest does not require me to publish my deepest wishes and dreams. I may decide to, but this decision will be at my own discretion.
5. Today I must write myself a list of my life visualizations today to prepare for the start of this challenge tomorrow morning.
6. Establishing this routine will be required for the next four weeks.

Decisions Decisions

I have been trying to decide how to attack my new challenge idea. I was originally going to start waking up at 5am. I have always envied morning people.

My idea was to ease my body into a morning schedule through a 4-6 week period. Each week I would rise and shine early for more days during that week than the one before, to eventually be waking up 5 days per week.

I discussed this idea with some friends of mine, and all of them think I need to re-think this challenge. One friend, who is very health conscious and well read in this subject told me that from a health stand-point, between 6 and 7 am is the best time to get up in the morning for a happy body. She believes this challenge could do more harm than good.

I may choose an easier and different challenge within the next couple of days and then move onto becoming a morning person at a later date, once I have researched this subject fully.