What’s Important
For me, a challenge is about having the courage to start and the determination to see it through – not necessarily how long it lasts.
Of course, abstaining from something for a long period is incredibly impressive. For example, giving up alcohol for 612 days is a remarkable achievement. However, when it comes to improving our mental health, I believe taking that first step and committing to change is often even more important. The decision to begin a challenge and follow it through can be just as powerful as the length of time spent doing it.
It’s so easy to procrastinate, putting things off is just delaying the inevitable – not doing them all. I’m a master procrastinator, I’ve become better over the years but I’ve definitely lost count of the amount of times I’ve said “I’ll do it later” – No Sam! Do it now!
Committing to and sticking with something until the end is something I’ve struggled with my whole life; relationships, jobs, business ideas, you name it, I’ve probably done it. Ironically, there are some things I do stick at, like blogging, because this means a lot to me.
When I first started to struggle with mental health, one of the things I did fairly regularly was blogging. It gave me the release I needed to battle my dark clouds. In my mind, it works for me – it’s a proven method which I’ve tried and tested before, so naturally, I’m going to enjoy it because it releases a healthy amount of dopamine when I am doing it.
I’ve spent the last 20 years or so working in a plethora of sales environments, and I feel my brain has been conditioned to realise a substantial amount of dopamine (the feel good chemical) when I achieve something big – For example, making a sale, hitting a target or being the best at something. When I achieve small things, I don’t get the same ‘buzz’, so I feel deflated, even though I shouldn’t – My brain is only chasing the big wins.
My business ideas – They require time, dedication, tenacity, perseverance and a whole load of other big words to make them work – In the beginning, they are slow moving and require patience to ensure they are setup and working correctly, before you can build them. This is the part my brain struggles with – in those very early stages, I do achieve small things (like building a good website or contacting ‘x’ amount of new clients) but there is nothing substantial which releases a good amount of dopamine to make the whole idea worth it and make me stick with it.
Tangent
Without going too far off on a tangent, the challenge is on! I’m going to abstain from alcohol from today (June 22nd is day 1) and post my progress as I go. It will be difficult initially, because in the past I have forgotten I was even challenging myself, also, habits over time are hard to break.
I haven’t set a goal – First I’ll get to 30 days and see how things are going. The calendar month might be enough to give me the satisfaction I need, there again, I might need and want go further.
Surely, I couldn’t beat the magical 612 days, could I?!
With the right mindset, it can be done.
July 22nd is 30 days.
