30 Day Trial: Experience The Best You

Note: I wrote this post in the early hours of Sunday morning but the trial began on Saturday .

If you wish to make a quantum leap in a particular area of your life,  I highly suggest experimenting with a 30 day trial of your choosing. That is, for 30 days, do one or  two activities everyday without fail.

I’m obviously not the first person to suggest a 30 day trial as a method of personal growth. Steve Pavlina has credited much of his success to numerous 30 day trials, most notably his trial in which he tried polyphasic sleep. He also did a 30 day trial in which he went raw.  I’m sure thousands of others have also found 30 day trials to be just as beneficial.

Provided you have even the slightest desire for a self improvement, 30 day trials can be accomplished without an overwhelming amount of effort.

My Experience with 30 Day Trials:

To be honest, I’ve only done a handful of 30 day trials. One time I did 50 push-ups everyday and the other time I read for an hour each evening. I found both trials to be extremely rewarding, especially the reading one. I also attempted to go 30 days without  complaining but that ended at around day 2. I plan on revisiting that one later this year.

Reading for a hour everyday really opened my eyes to how powerful applied knowledge can be. Within the 30 days, I was able to read  10 books and in the process absorb a tremendous amount of information, much of which I was later able to apply in real life.

The 30 day trial completely renewed my passion for reading which I find to be immensely beneficial. I now aim to read a book every two weeks.

I am grateful for the experiences I had during those 30 day trials as they opened me up to many profound insights.

Running Roots:

During my freshman and sophomore years of high-school, I was on the cross country team and devoted every waking hour to running. During my most intense weeks I would be peak out at about 65 miles a week. Because of my constant running I was in extraordinary shape.

However, when I moved to Shanghai my running days abruptly came to an end. The two main reasons:

Pollution: While Shanghai provided me with many wonderful benefits , one unfortunate consequence of living there was the pollution. While the pollution isn’t nearly as bad as American media makes it out to be, the pollution is still poor enough to where it has an impact on your breathing.

Lack of Motivation: While in Texas I would always run with my team members and as a result I had instant access to encouragement from my brothers. When a run got tough, I would rely on the strength of the team to keep me moving in a positive direction.

Yet, because running wasn’t all that popular in Shanghai, I often found myself doing my runs solo, which although refreshing, was missing the team component that I had come accustomed to.

As a result of not running, I gained over 30 pounds within my first year in Shanghai (take into account I was comparable to a stick back in my glory days.) While not obese by any means, the Shanghai lifestyle did a wonderful job at showcasing my quickly growing gut.

My two friends who visited me this summer thoroughly enjoyed poking fun of my once rock hard abs.

For the past two years running is something I have missed greatly and I hope to reawaken my one time passion over the upcoming months. I intend  this 30 day trial will start me off in the right direction.

A Fresh Start:

To say I’m excited for college would be an understatement. I now assume full control over my life (minus the part where my parents continue to pay for my education. My success now depends on the decisions I do or don’t make. While I know I will have my share of failures,I plan on becoming aware on what does and does’nt work through my mistakes.

With the transition to college also comes a fresh start and I plan on making the most out of the opportunity.

Because the health aspect of my life suffered a great deal in Shanghai, one of my main focuses for this upcoming year is to get back into decent shape. This means that I’m going to have to develop a daily routine that encourages healthy living.

I realize this will prove to be very difficult and I am well aware of the reoccurring threat of the “Freshman 15.”  Yet I sincerely believe I will find the right balance in my life.

Not only do I plan on exercising on a more routine basis, I also intend to incorporate more healthy foods into my diet. However despite my ideal intentions, it would be unrealistic for me to think I will not indulge in some “college food” every now and then. Perfection is not my goal.

For the next 30 days I intend to go for a least one run of two miles or more,  but I expect the distance to increase to three or four miles towards the end of the trial.

This morning I went for a two mile jog and this evening I did a easy mile with my brother. The weather in St. Louis is nice and fresh

At this rate I’ll be in tip-top shape for the start of school on the 24th. Ladies call me.

Creating Your Own 30 Day Trials:

What area of life are you neglecting? What habit do you wish to adopt? Kick off a 30 day trial and start reaping the benefits you know you deserve.

Experience the best you.

If you are in need of some 30 day trial ideas head over here. Please share your 30 day trial in the comment section as well.

Now get going!

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