Tuesday, December 27, 2011

Why wait? The 30-Day Challenge

My friend, Adam, doesn't believe in New Year's resolutions. It's not that he doesn't think folks should set an intention to improve something in their lives and then act on that intention, it's just that he doesn't see the point of waiting until New Year's Day to take on those improvements. I actually agree with him, despite the fact that I love making New Year's resolutions. I enjoy thinking about what I want to tackle and even reflecting on what I changed or didn't the previous year. I like the "clean slate" feeling of it. But, I have to agree with Adam, there's no point to waiting until New Year's Day.
With that in mind, I want to tackle a 30-day challenge that I read about on another blog, but before I do, I'm going to engage in something I rarely, if ever, do here in this space.
I try to keep this space almost exclusively about my work or things that inspire my work and always with a positive spin. I think approaching life with a positive attitude is probably the best gift you can give yourself. Unfortunately, life is not all cherries and kittens, though I'm allergic to cats, so I don't know why kittens would be a positive thing in my world, but.... Anyway, the past year has brought so many blessings, both professionally and personally, but it has also been the most challenging year of my life in terms of my personal life. Without going into too much detail, but also reassuring all you terrific readers that I'm thankfully at the "light-at-the-end-of the tunnel" point, 2011 has been the year I went from married to single.
It's all(mostly?) good now and in many ways the process has been full of growth. Sometimes it takes a major shake-up like that to force you to re-examine your life and how thoughtful you are about your everyday existence. As part of that I've done a lot of reading, both online and otherwise, and found so much wisdom out there. One site that I particularly like is Marc and Angel Hack Life.
Their current post is titled 30 Challenges for 30 Days of Growth. If you take the time to read the post you'll discover that they're not expecting you to take on all 30 challenges listed, but to pick 2-5 that you feel you can make a daily commitment to for 30 days.
One of the challenges I selected is #30: Document Every Day with One Photograph and One Paragraph. It seemed like a bit of a no-brainer to choose that one because, hey, I already have a blog, and I could certainly work on improving it and generally being more attentive to it.
So, with that intention in mind and, noting Adam's point about the senselessness of waiting to take on a challenge, I'm starting today. For the next 30 days, I'll be posting a picture and a brief paragraph that, hopefully, relates to that.
Sound good? If you'd like to join me or want to take on some of the other challenges listed and feel like a public declaration of that intention would aid the process, feel free to let me know in the comments.
As for me, here I go.
Last night I was teaching a class at Stitch Lab, which, by the way, is the best fabric and sewing store in town, and had a few minutes to walk around and shoot some pictures. I'll upload all of them to my flickr, but this one seemed especially appropriate for my first entry on my 30-day challenge. I'm not going to lie to y'all, I worry that I won't make all 30 days. It's like flossing daily. I leave the dentist's office with the best of intentions and then daily flossing becomes every other day or once every three days. But, and this is a big but, you can't make the change without setting forth the intention and there's something powerful about stating it publicly. So, I'm making my intention known about this aspect of the 30-day challenge. As for the daily flossing....hmmm...we'll see.

17 comments:

Pétra said...

What a great challenge and it sounds like the right timing for your life. Thank you for sharing something so personal I wish you all the best in 2012!

teresa said...

Congrats on making changes to your life and taking the bull by the horns. I love the idea of 30-day challenges since they feel so much more doable than a whole year of whatever.

I think I may have to make a public statement of my own dedication on my blog. Thanks for the inspiration and here's to a new chapter in life.

jennifer said...

three cheers for resilience, malka. much love to you + yours, and warmest wishes that even more brightness may come your way. xoxo

Lori said...

Best wishes with your new road in life. I love the idea of a daily photograph. As for the flossing, take it from this dental hygienist...SoftPicks by GUM work just as well and are much easier to do daily!

house on hill road said...

that is a fantastic challenge and i love that you are sharing it here. virtually cheering you on! here's to a fantastic 2012

Esch House Quilts said...

It sounds like you have had quite a challenging year! It is inspiring to see you come through it with such a great attitude. Good luck with the 30 day challenge!

Salsy said...

Good for you Malka! I have only recently discovered your great fabric..am looking forward to purchasing some stitch in color fabric :).
Have a great 2012

mek said...

While I would not wish you a year without challenges (I don't think you would like that!), I do hope that 2012 brings kinder challenges. Thanks for your post and the link to the challenges!

Pinkkrystal said...

What a great pic. And to be surrounded by your work, great fabrics, and warm friends. Here's to you!!

cauchy09 said...

oh, gosh we all have such a love/hate relationship with change. i wish you great strength through this transition and into the future.

and i look forward to your 30-day photo project!

Sandy K. said...

What a great post - I love your positive outlook and the fact that you believe in moving forward. The challenge sounds right up my alley right now, so I'm going to take a look at the suggestions and forge ahead:). Thank you, and Happy New Year!

liniecat said...

Best of luck for the future and I hope 2012 brings you most if not all you wish for. Thanks for the link to such a positive blog too.

Cheryl Arkison said...

Well, that was quite a year then! Hope you are doing well as it closes out. Or rather, as you start the next steps.

Rachel at Stitched in Color said...

Here, here on making the intention and stating it publicly. The photo you ended with was gorgeous. Happy New Year, Malka! Anything can happen in a year.

blandina said...

A great post, 2011 has been a difficult year for me too, and it is not finished.
Thank you for the link to the blog and the 30 days challenge, I read the article and found it very interesting.
My 2012 bring you strength and serenity.

Victoria said...

Just catching up on some blog reading... had no idea what a road this past year really was for you... I was only aware of the of peaks and not of the valleys. So sorry for the storms you have had to weather, but I admire your courage in facing them. Wishing you a wonderful New Year, full of new opportunities, self discoveries, joy, happiness, good health and prosperity.

Anonymous said...

Hi Malka---I'm catching up on my blog reading. Wow! What a challenging year for you. I wish for you a great 2012 with all kinds of goodness.