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As I wrote earlier, I have pretty much lived up to my earlier challenges, and I need something new. The components for a good challenge are many. It needs to be:
- Difficult. There’s no point challenging yourself to drinking a cup of water each day.
- Attainable. While difficulty is a must, have an unattainable goal will backfire drastically.
- A reward in and of itself. While it’s a good idea to have a reward for yourself upon completion, the basic idea is that the challenge sets up a scenario by which you benefit directly anyway.
- Slightly outside your comfort zone. If you’re not flexing some existential muscles, you aren’t doing anything really new.
- Fun. If you can’t find a way to enjoy the challenge, you’re going to be fighting yourself the entire way.
Obviously a thorny problem. I had done some challenges before, such as giving up soda, and a challenge wherein I listened to a Paraliminal at least once per day. Both provided big boosts in their time, and I enjoy the benefits to this day.
As I write, I find that I keep running into two problems personally: Insufficient system requirements for my goals, and inner resistance. Particularly to anything that I know will benefit me. Upon closer inspection, I realized that they are two sides of the same coin: The resistance prevents me from building myself up to what I can be. It keeps me from acknowledging and accepting all of my resources and capabilities, internal and external.
One example of this recently is the Blogger’s Promise (link in the badge at right) I made a while back. I’ve been trying to add my voice to the ongoing conversation, but I find that I keep getting bogged down in small stuff.
At the same time, while I have been better at meditating, I haven’t been able to make a genuine practice out of it.
The challenge.
So, my challenge is going to follow the 30-day format. I am going to move on two different fronts, both will have a practical benefit and a secondary one. For 30 days I am going to engage in a meditation practice (Acceptable options are the Sonic Access meditations, the Quantum Light Breath, or unassisted meditation), and I will make good on the Blogging Promise:
- I will be sure to comment on other Blogs if I can add to the conversation.
- I will respond to comments on my own Blog.
- I will acknowledge any links to my Blog with a comment on the linker’s Blog.
- I will continue to link to other Blogs that are pertinent to a posts content.
- I will once again be a part of the Blogging Community.
Each day, I will see to it that I am meeting each point as well as seeing to it that I am meditating. As a measure of accountability, I will be including a tag at the bottom of each post during the challenge showing the progress. The benefits of meditating are well known, but one specific reason for me is the exercise of discipline. The other results will also be welcome. As for the blogging promise, the benefits will be that I become a better blogger and as such, will become better at serving you, the reader. This blog is a labor of love and so I want it to be the best that it can.
I’d like to express my gratitude to everyone who submitted ideas for the challenge. I wouldn’t have arrived at this one without them.
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***The November 2007 Challenge***
This is the badge for my two goals. There are two “points”: One for each piece of the challenge. The challenge begins today, 11-9-2007 and ends 12-9-2007. Comments, suggestions, and feedback welcome!
