Thirty Days

In July I posted about a TED presentation given by Matt Cutts who challenged people to try doing something for 30 days, stating that anyone can do anything for just 30 days.  Right on, Matt!  I said that I was going to take up that challenge and report back on the results.  Well, Matt was correct about one thing.  It is possible to do something for thirty days, whether it's an exercise, eating or cleaning course of action.  But something else happened during those thirty days.

I found out that I accomplish more during the day if I have a check list to follow.  I found that I had a less stressful day if I attack the check list first thing in the morning, rather than telling myself that I could get to my tasks later in the day.  I found out that I can quite easily become an obsessive person.  But the biggest surprise of all came when I realized that there were some things that I passionately enjoyed doing and some things that I eventually decided I could live without.  The surprise part was realizing the things that I enjoyed as opposed to things that I thought I should be doing.

What I enjoy, or how I spent 30 days this summer.  I found that I thoroughly enjoy reading, cooking, and cleaning.  I am now in the midst of purging my house of unused objects and general clutter.  I found that such a home is EASY to maintain and a delight to live in.  Plus it absolutely freaks out my husband who had heard me state in regard to cleaning, "After four years it doesn't get any worse".

As far as cooking I'm finally using all those cookbooks that I've collected over the years, which led to the creation of my recipe blog.  My current experiment is with raw foods and the incredible world of raw foods beyond salads.  Exploring flavors has become a delight for me and a terror filled experiment for my husband who thinks that Twinkies are a major food group.

And finally, summer reading.  I've read more books these past few months than I generally read in a year.  A great resource for a reading list is the book "Tolstoy and the Purple Chair," by Nina Sankovitch, which led to her "read all day" blog.  Check out the blog for 365 book reviews on books written by 365 different authors. 

Well, have you tried anything for 30 days?  Any discoveries about yourself?  I'm still using my daily check list and accomplishing more of the things that I love to do which gives me more time to explore other options for my life.  Who knows where this may lead.  I'm looking forward to finding out.