The Day 4 Drop-Off
Many times we take the initiative to bring about a change in ourselves, and the 30-Day Challenge is one of the best ways to make ourselves disciplined, add good habits to our lives, change the monotonous life, and have fun too. I had started the Art Challenge for 30 days and wore off by Day 4. I could not start again and was so exhausted that I gave myself an excuse that I could do it later, but that time never came, and my 30-Day Challenge streak broke.
It not only demotivates you but also never lets you start another challenge. Instead of growing better, you grow tired and frustrated. I nearly gave up. Most of the 30-Day Challenges fail in the first week, but have you ever wondered why?
Why do most challenges fail in the first week?
- Tired and exhausted
- Treating the challenges as secondary
- Not believing in yourself
- Procrastination
- Self-critical attitude
- Challenges every day may feel too hard to complete
- Handling multiple responsibilities
- Any existing trauma or stress
- Need to be perfect
- Not fun anymore
- Creative block
I gave up on Day 4 and did not show up for Day 5 and stopped posting on Instagram also. All of a sudden, everything stopped, but I realized why I am doing all these challenges. These challenges should not only transform me, but it also should be a good reason to energise me from within so that I wake up every day and do it without fail.
Here are 5 ways to beat it
- Smooth out the target tasks
Do not keep 2 difficult tasks in a row. Day 1 to be easy and Day 2 to be moderately tough, then Day 3 to be easy. This way, you are not exhausted and do not lose interest. You will be able to maintain a daily strike.
- 5-day reward
Tie a small end reward to every 5-day completion, like your favourite food or buying yourself flowers or anything that makes you happy or healthy. This way, you look forward to something other than the challenge. This keeps you cheerful too.
- Stop comparing
Do not compare your progress with anybody else. Once you compare, you demotivate yourself. You are allowed to compare yourself with who you were yesterday. Are you doing better? Are you showing up? That is what is important.
- Do Not Think
As you wake up and have your breakfast, start doing the task without thinking about anything else. Once you give yourself any time, you will start thinking about other things, like: is laundry done, who is coming, and who is upset with you, and the train of thoughts that overwhelms you will never allow you to write again.
- Be Kind to yourself
Even if you miss one day, do not let that make you think you are not good enough or that you will never change. It’s okay to miss a day, but restart the next day. Do not let the mistake of missing 1 day make you miss the other days too. Be kind to yourself, and that is how you will become better.
I have restarted my Art Challenge, and soon I will be posting all of those on my blog and also on my Instagram account.
