It has taken me over 42 days to finish my latest 30 days of discipline. I expected this at the beginning because I choose not to do the discipline on the weekends. Plus I lost a couple of days when I had a stinking cold and just couldn't face exercise or a cold shower.
What's The Point?
In the comment section of my original 30 Days post, somebody stated that they didn't really get why I was doing it and wondered what I'd get out of the whole thing. So I thought I'd mark the end of this challenge by simply reiterating why pushing yourself out of your comfort zone is a good idea.
The Path Of Least Resistance
Even though the human race is at the zenith of its technological and scientific achievements, our biology is still aeons behind.
This is because technology evolves at an exponential rate. This is why you would need over one thousand Brother computers from 1980 to match the power of a smartphone from 2018. Some estimates say that in the first fourteen years of the 21st century, we developed an entire 20th century's worth of technology.
Our brains however are evolving at the rate that natural selection allows them to. We are of course adapting fairly well, for instance there is no part of the brain that has evolved specifically to type or use a computer. However we can do so because of our adaptability.
All this means that our brains are still working to very basic rules. One such rule is, the path of least resistance. Simply put, this means that our brains are always looking for the easy way out.
So if we get neurological feedback that we are happy just sitting around navel gazing, then our accommodating brains will allow us to do just that.
The more we wallow in tasks that do not challenge us, the less we feel like doing hard things. In fact difficult things will cause us extreme mental discomfort.
Therefore in order to send the message to the brain that you are prepared to go through hard times in order to get a greater reward. You have to rearrange what the path of least resistance is. In other words, by doing 30 days of discipline (whatever that may be), you are making the hard easy.
Habit Forming
We so often talk about habits as if they are all bad, in a lot of cases we even drop the word bad altogether and just use habit.
For instance you'll often hear heroin junkies referring to themselves as, having a habit.
However a habit is just something that you repeat on a regular basis. So if you smoke it's a habit, if you go to the gym regularly without thinking about it, that is also a habit.
On average habits take around twenty to thirty days to form (my sweet spot is twenty five days). If the habit you are trying to form is at first difficult, and you just keep going and smiling. Then after twenty three days it is almost as if your brain says; ok, you're obviously enjoying this, it seems easier to just let you do it than try and stop you.
In other words, you have created a new path of least resistance, and formed a good habit.
Esteem
There is no greater feeling than finishing something you set out to do. The great thing about that fact is that it is a completely proportional feedback loop. The harder the task you attempt, the greater the feeling of accomplishment you'll feel when you complete it.
This all goes to making you a more rounded and happier human being. Which in turn will benefit your friends and family, and even strangers you meet, as you exude confidence and are brimming with self-esteem.
Change Your Zone
Lastly, starting one hard thing and completing it will boost you on to take on other challenges. It shows you that things you perhaps once thought were difficult, are in fact a walk in the park.
In other words you are expanding your comfort zone, making it larger and allowing it to accommodate tasks that can enrich your life.
Perhaps you feel stuck in a rut whereby you can't seem to get out of your situation. Maybe you have a job that is comfortable, yet unfulfilling and you haven't left because of how difficult you perceive it to be. Well doing 30 day challenges and the like, will show you that you are capable of pushing yourself beyond your comfort zone and making stuff happen!
So get out there and push yourself, you can try my version of 30 days, or you can devise your own challenge. The idea is to push your envelope of comfort out, whilst at the same time improving your physical and mental health.
So what are you waiting for? Get out there and inject some discipline into your life!
NEXT I WILL BE TAKING ON A SWIMMING CHALLENGE. I DID ONE AROUND 2 YEARS AGO AND GOT TO A POINT WHEREBY I COULD SWIM AROUND A HALF MILE WITH ONLY ONE STOP, THEREFORE WOULD LIKE TO GET BACK TO THAT LEVEL AGAIN.
WHAT 30 DAY CHALLENGE DO YOU THINK YOU COULD DO TO ENHANCE YOUR LIFE? WHAT THINGS DO YOU CURRENTLY FIND DIFFICULT AND WHAT WOULD YOU LIKE TO IMPROVE IN YOUR LIFE?
AS EVER, LET ME KNOW BELOW!
Title image: Doran Erickson on Unsplash
