I have officially completed two thirds of my 100 day challenge, and I have a few takeaways to share. To start, I’m still in it, still pushing through the resistance, and I am still keeping my eye on the prize of completing all 100 days.
It’s interesting, this challenge — I mean, I knew it would push me. I knew it would teach me new things. I even knew it would ultimately change parts of me. I just didn’t know to what extent or to the immediateness of change.
The mind is a funny thing. Let me quickly breakdown some of how the mind works — a caveat, this is a high level, non-sciencey breakdown, and is only a very tiny interpreted portion of what the brain functions are capable of.
To start, we have the prefrontal cortex that provides judgment, thinking, reasoning, problem-solving, and learning. Then there’s the primitive mind which provides us with our evolved responsive instincts of fight, flight, or freeze — as well as our habitual responses. There is also the basal ganglia that provides us with our emotional processing abilities.
Here is where I decided, with my prefrontal cortex, to challenge myself with a repeated action (movement) for 100 days. The purpose is to take said action from the prefrontal to then move it to the habit portion of the primitive, over the span of 100 days. All while recognizing and allowing for the emotions, (resistance) provided to me from my basal ganglia. This is called the process of progression.
- First — the activity I have required of myself has gotten a lot easier to perform. This comes naturally as a side effect of the compound effect. And on some days, when I have time and feel so inclined, I’ll even increase either intensity or speed.
- Second — the intensity of the resistance has eased a bit, in both vibrational frequency and occurrence.
- Third — when the new action (challenge) is committed to, and intentions are fixed, giving into resistance is frankly NOT EVEN AN OPTION.
- Finally — I have followed through every day for the last 65 days. I have had to modify on some days what I did that day, and/or the timing of which it was done in. BUT STILL, I moved intentionally every single day, without fail.
Was it hard? Some days, absolutely! On other days it felt easy-peasy. The epiphany I had was that moving up to the edge of resistance before easing into allowance, was harder than the action itself. THE takeaway of the 100 day challenge was the awareness of an either push or pull energy. A push back, against performing the action, which shows up as resistance — or a pull, being pulled to move assuredly forward by inspiration and/or clarity.
Let me rewind just a bit, on day 25 I decided to add another challenge to the already existing challenge — thinking I would level up every 25 days. I added my morning routine, everyday to my already existent movement challenge.
Ok, reality check time. 25 days was too soon. I have zero regrets, and I have followed through for the last 41 days, I just wouldn’t do it again that soon. Nor would I recommend it, unless you really want to challenge yourself with resistance, and prove to yourself just how much of a badass you are, then DO IT!! However, what I would recommend is to wait 33 day or even 50 days before adding anything on top of the challenge.
NOT THAT ANYONE NEEDS TO ADD ANYTHING ELSE TO A 100 DAY CHALLENGE, trust me, the challenge is honestly enough. I’m only adding because I am currently dancing with resistance.
NOW, here I am two thirds done and I am adding one more challenge to the two challenges I currently have going. Bring on the resistance! For the next 33 days I will honor my calendar. Here are those parameters:
- I will plan the calendar out weekly.
- I will perform the tasks and results planned on my calendar.
- Keeping to the timeline I scheduled them for, not before, not after.
Learning to get from here (our beginning) to there (our goal) is the practice of us becoming. Setting intentions 100 days at a time gives our minds focus, and allows our intentions to be top of mind and ever present. When we are present, especially with our intentions, life pulls us to the future we are cultivating. And that my friends, is how to ultimately get from here to there, successfully.
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