When I think about a process that has really helped me improve myself, is challenging myself with challenges that are measurable. I remember something that said back when I was younger was was that to day challenges are the way to make calculated steps towards a new self. Life occurs in days that add up to the bigger picture, so slow down and try to do what is critical to your advancement on a daily basis.
Start
Start with a 3-day challenge, which in my opinion is a great start point especially when it comes to breaking older habits. A “3-day hump” is a way to try and do something everyday that you wish to make part of your life. I also find that is critical if you fell off a habit for a while, make a 3-day challenge to get over your hump and say after 3 days everything else will be a lot easier. The reason for this is that starting points should never be too hard, but also not something you do once and call yourself a hero.
Continue L1
7 day challenges are the next step in when you are trying to dabble in a skill for a short bit without think too much too far into the future. From my own experience, especially when you’re starting or re-starting, thinking about doing something forever seems so daunting that it makes your goals unsustainable by design. I’ve learned though trail an error that the easier you make it for yourself mentally the easier it will be to develop the critical foundation to keep on fighting.
Continue L2
Another jump that will challenge you more is a month challenge or the good old 30-day challenge. I find these to be the best when you really want to see some progress in a skill like “writing ;)” or learning python or whatever skill you want to develop. An hour a day for 30 days is a great minimum starting point especially when you are juggling work, school and your personal life. If you want develop a reading habit, start with 3 days, then 7 days and a 30 day challenge.
Continue L3
Level 3 is a 6 month challenge, it is part of a larger goal that you trying to accomplish. Lets say for example that you want to be able to build an product for your business. You have a dream but you know you lack the skills in order to build a product yourself. A 6 month challenge could be a combination of 30-day challenges that you are are cumulating to be part of that larger goal.
Say you want to build an application that helps people that are trying to learn micro credentials, gain the relevant skills to thrive and continue advancing. You list out that on a minimum that you need to learn how to build a website, you need to develop your writing abilities, UI and UX design and you need to level up your knowledge about business and finance. A 6 month goal will be to learn and apply all the skills towards your product over 6-months. This is how we can make these bigger goals more manageable.
Continue L4
The one year challenge. This is a level that Is extremely hard to think about unless you put in the perspective of who do you want to become. What do you want to offer the world. People might say that you have to think on this level before everything else, because then you will never know where the goals you are acting out are going. I agree but I think this is something you should think about only after you’ve develop trust in yourself that are an individual that follows through. It’s good to start with the mindset of ” I AM A PERSON THAT FOLLOWS THROUGH AND ACHIEVES MY GOALS THAT I SET FOR MYSELF”, by doing some lower level challenges.
You see when a structure is provided for you, like when you go to school or you’re at a job it’s easier than commanding yourself and executing a plan that will lead to bigger goals. To command yourself and be success is reserved for those that make it happen themselves. See the paradox. A education can be part of your larger goals but only if you make it part of it. DO NOT BY ANY MEANS LET ANYONE ELSE DEFINE YOUR PATH FOR YOU.
Level 5, 6 and infinite plan
Level 5, 6 and infinite plan is out of the scope of this article.
Minimums and Maximums
Minimum
Sometimes as you are improving some of the goals that you’ve already developed become less of the main focus. These goals are extremely important to your well being, like meditating daily, making sure you stay fit and keeping up your reading habit. In my opinion, those three goals are the foundation to transforming your life but after they become part of your life, it’s important to keep them up.
This is where the concept of minimums and maximums come in, you should have a minimum time blocked out in a day or a minimum days in the week that you spend on that goal to maintain your habit and sanity. For example working out is something that is important in my life, but with all my other obligations I need to have a minimum times in the week so that I keep my habit up and feel great.
Maximum
Sometimes you love an activity so much that it will start to creep into the time you need to work on your bigger goals. This is where maximum time limits are important. For example if I could read all day and everyday I would would. I love reading books about history and learning about different perspectives. Reading keeps you sharp but action is what brings you results. I set a maximum amount of time to read in the day, and only read after that if it helps with a goal.
Life
Challenges are important to a life that seeks advancement.
This article is part of my goal to write everyday for an hour and post it everyday. It may not be edited to my standards but the goal is create value and get content out everyday.
