Originally Published February 15th, 2019

Hey Gang,

They say if you can do something for 30 days, it becomes a habit.

On January 14th, I started a 30 day writing challenge.

The goal was to see if I could write & publish a blog each day for 30 days.

At the beginning, I wasn’t even sure if I could come up with that much content. But as the days went by, my notebook started filling with ideas.

Now I have pages of topics that I want to write about. I’ve made writing every day a habit. And while I’ve completed my challenge, I’m going to continue writing & publishing daily for the foreseeable future.

I’ve considered only publishing 3 or 4 times a week—but I like the pressure that comes with having to post daily. I think if I back off now—I might get lazy.

What My Challenge Taught Me

Writing Is Thinking

Thinking takes place in the brain right? It’s when you’re all alone in you head. But we think in other ways as well. When you talk to someone—you’re thinking out loud. You’re processing information, you’re bouncing ideas off your friends, you’re creating new neural pathways.

Writing is thinking too.

Writing is a way to process what you’re learning, commit information to memory, express your thoughts and opinions to others—and yourself.

When I sit down to write about something, I usually end up learning more about the subject as I work my way through it.

Writing for the past 30 days has helped me articulate my thoughts on many things and subsequently, I’ve been able to absorb and retain more information.

Creating Begets More Creativity

The more I write, the more ideas I come up with to write about.

When I started this challenge, the first week was very difficult. There was a time when I thought I would run out of things to say.

Once I started developing a writing routine, ideas started to flow.

After 30 days, my mind is in writing mode all the time. Anything from a line in a movie, a song lyric, bathroom wall quote, or a random shower thought, will inspire me to write.

You Make Room For Your Goal

After I started the 30 day challenge, I had to make time to write. So I started cutting out things that weren’t as important as reaching my goal.

I woke up earlier. I stopped waisting time on social media. I quit my habit of going to the grocery store everyday after work. Etc.

Starting a writing challenge also helped me kick some bad habits.

I realized that by eliminating things from my schedule, I could make more time for something that was more meaningful. For me, that was one of the biggest lessons of the 30 day challenge.

You Will Learn More Than You Expect

I had to overcome obstacles in order to write every day.

While on vacation in Frisco, I had to learn how to write & publish on my phone—because I didn’t have access to wifi.

Whatever your challenge may be, you’ll learn hacks, shortcuts—new skills.

It’s not just about achieving your goal, it’s about learning how to become more efficient.

You Can Change Your Life By Small Daily Acts

“If you want to live a life you’ve never lived—you have to be willing to do things you’ve never done.” —Jen Sincero

If you want to make changes in your life, you have to act.

Action is everything. 

Small daily acts are the most significant.

You aren’t going to wake up and suddenly speak a foreign language, weight 10 lbs less, write software code, etc.

You will eventually be able to do these things through completing small daily acts that work towards reaching these goals.

Why Do A 30 Day Challenge?

I wanted to write for 30 days to see if I could—to see if I liked it enough to continue.

I learned a lot.

What’s the worst thing that could happen? If you do a 30 day challenge and you don’t like it, are you really losing anything? Chances are you’re going to learn from the experience.

If anything, I want to start a new 30 day challenge.

Your 30 day challenge can be as simple as expressing gratitude every morning—or as complicated as starting a side business.

Whatever your goal may be—take the chance—try it out for 30 days.

You may find yourself sticking with it after the challenge is finished.