Challenge Of The Month Club

Another request from my best friend – say more about our Challenge Of The Month Club!

It all began on the wintry morning of January 3, 2020…

I was sitting at the breakfast table flip flip flipping through Pinterest, looking for something to snap myself out of wasting time flipping through Pinterest.

Go on and laugh at that.

I decided I needed a 30-day declutter my life challenge so I searched for those and landed on this exact one:

There are a billion and one similar challenges available on Pinterest, a whole rabbit hole of procrastination in itself, but I chose this one because it had the right balance of what was doable and what was needed, the right blend to snap me back to participating in life and being a productive mom and wife. Remember, I was in the midst of finishing my PAO surgeries but completely stuck with adhesive capsulitis and the uncertainty of having no answers. I needed something to get me out of my self and this was the perfect tiny first step.

I immediately sent it to my BFF, knowing that she needed this, too. We were both stuck on embarrassing things so I knew we needed to do this together. Plus, #6, “write down your friend’s best qualities,” promised to be the best day of all!

I’ve led tons of similar fitness and business challenges with groups large and small, but this one was different. Personal, private, and sorely needed. A literal digging into my closet to purge and renew. This is the exact time to grab your best friend’s hand and do it together.

Little did we realize what we were about to launch into.

This month of reorganizing purses and wallets (we have the cutest tiny wallets now), taking time to write short thoughts to share, and the variety within the challenge planted seeds for important months of growth for us and the friends who have joined in along the way.

We did that for all of January.

Challenge of the Month Club is born…

In February, we did our first round of The Minimalist Game. We added family and friends for this one. As you can see, the visual results were striking, but the most important results were the seeds that were planted for even more growth. We had gone from tiny window gardens to backyard gardens.

In March, we took time to branch off into our own specific goals. I had my second pair of bilateral scopes then so being organized about it was off the table. But, the goals and challenges didn’t stop! During the Minimalist Game I made a list of “11 Hot Spots” in my house that I wanted to overhaul, all during the month of March. It was my huge goal. Most were single day projects but one took an entire week. Damn, my house looked good! At least in those 11 spots.

The freshly cleared spaces gave me room to breathe, think, and begin to notice what is most important in my life. It was slow going at first on two freshly operated on hips, but the COVID lockdowns were just beginning so there was no rush – we were all stuck at home with nothing else to do.

April continued on to more personal challenges within our group. For me that meant challenging myself with documentary photography, a genre that I had never played with. Being stuck at home with a captive audience gave me plenty of opportunity.

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June was my next surgery so my challenges got lighter again for a few months. I did personal challenges like:

• At least 30 mins of yoga a day
• 6 Weeks to Handstand
• Make my bed everyday, because how we do anything is how we do everything
• 8 hours of sleep a night

This is also when I created and began Peach Bomb.

Fall is when things really picked up and we gathered a larger group to do the another round of The Minimalist Game.

Then it was the Screentime Challenge. This challenge delivered the most profound change for all of us. For me, it gave me the ability to be present and savor life again.

We were on fire with the challenges and our backyard gardens were turning into full fledged farms.

• Gratitude November
• Random Acts of Kindness in December
• More Love Letters

All the while my personal challenges continued to grow with new ideas for 2021:

• Dry January
• No sugar month
• No spend month/no online shopping
• Turn off devices and read
• Project 333
• Personalized versions of 75 Hard
• 30 Days to a Better Relationship
• Learn something new – take a workshop, learn a language on Duolingo
• Make something – knit, photo series

Earlier this year I enrolled in a writing workshop, one of my “learn something new” personal challenges. This is where the seeds were planted and sowed for writing this blog. If it weren’t for that workshop I would still be stuck at “should I share my story”?

Challenge of the Month Club WORKS

These are a lot of challenges!

There has been an incredible amount of growth and learning and productivity as a result, but the most important impact for me has been getting outside myself. Sure, I accomplished a lot of personal things and so have my friends, but we have done it together, holding each other accountable every day.

Doing for others and giving, and working to be my best self in order to do and give at my highest level – that’s where the gold in all of this is! Each day when I approach whatever challenge I am in, I remember this part.

Benefits:

• Getting my spaces cleared (always a work in progress) gives me clarity.
• Getting off my devices gives me focus and keeps me present.
• Organization and routines gives me structure.
• Accomplishing goals is empowering.
• Getting outside myself and helping others do the same is gratifying.
• This is all FAR better than dwelling on healing.

Drawbacks:

• None

And it all started with that simple Pinterest image and holding hands with my best friend.

Are you interested in joining my Challenge of the Month club? If so, reach out! There is power in numbers and, as Jim Rohn says…

…so pick people that will push you to be your best!

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