My 100-Day Challenge Backfired Because I Forgot To Consider My Nature.
Author Note:
Rubina’s Bojra is going on a break in August, other than the 13th and 27th Sundays.
"Slow down and enjoy life. It's not only the scenery you miss by going too fast — you also miss the sense of where you are going and why."
― Eddie Cantor
Earlier this year, I shared about the 100-day challenge I signed up for.
My goal was simple. I wanted to be consistent with my 3 non-negotiables - Writing, Reading, and Exercise (Workout and Meditation).
By June 7th, I realised this challenge wasn't working for me.
Here are the results -
Total number of days between Jan 1st to June 7th = 157 days
Total Writing days = 62
Total Reading days = 85
Total Exercise days = 32
Not only were the trackable results not up to the mark, the non-trackable result was abysmal.
The non-trackable result was how I was feeling about the whole challenge.
Instead of challenging and motivating me to work on and enjoy my non-negotiables, it made me hustle myself into a crashing burnout.
Writing, Reading and Exercise are the three things I love and genuinely want to do every day. But instead of getting excited about them, this challenge made them intimidating. When I would miss a couple of days, it made me feel I wasn't doing enough. I know I am not a "doing-every-day" kind of personality. But no matter how much I tried to shift things around my plate, I couldn't get these three to be part of at least 75% of the month.
Then, on June 8th, I suffered a severely painful lower back. Hence, I was forced to take a month off to recover. (Thankfully, my essays were written in advance, so this break didn't affect my publishing schedule.)
This forced break made me think about what I was doing wrong. The answer came to me immediately.
I was functioning at a pace that was against my nature.
I am not a hustler - never have been, never will be. But this challenge, and the unrealistic number of things I had on my plate, forced me to hustle so that I could get everything done.
As a result -
I half-hearted and half-assed, personally and professionally.
I was in constant work mode, jumping from one errand to another.
I was under constant stress because there was always the next thing to do.
I became so obsessed with tracking my day, which made things worse.
I felt guilty for not caring for my health, but then I didn't do anything about it, giving the excuse that I didn't have time or energy.
I was constantly worrying about the future, never living in the present. And enjoying the present was out of the question.
This 24x7 state of hustle and stress turned this 100-day challenge, which should have been a fun experiment, into a lifeless chore I had to complete.
My June break has made me realise that I can't overburden myself. I should factor in my beliefs, lifestyle, dreams, and the ebb and flow of life through each day.
As of now, I am done tracking and scheduling my day. Even the 100-day challenge is on a break indefinitely. I understand that too much practical/logical/trackable approach doesn't work in my favour.
I now treat each day as a fresh start, do my best, and sleep satisfied with whatever the day gave me.
