Do you want to know the hidden benefits of doing a 30 day challenge? It’s a lot more powerful than it sounds. The benefits are huge, and all it takes is just a little bit of staying power.

Where it began for me

When I was at one of my lowest points emotionally – dealing with grief, stress and exhaustion – my physical health was also suffering.

I was eating all the wrong things, trying to keep exercising but repeatedly failing, and feeling like it was all one never ending loop.

Feel bad -> eat rubbish -> feel bad -> fail to exercise -> feel bad -> eat rubbish -> fail to exercise

On repeat

I’d been down the path of grief before, and didn’t handle it particularly well the first time, so this time I knew I needed to take some positive action.

I looked at all the areas of my life – my career, my family, my relationships, my physical health etc – and I worked out which area was in the worst state and needed the most urgent attention. Knowing how much I enjoy feeling healthy and fit, I knew it was my physical health I needed to tackle first.

So I set myself a goal to run a mile a day for the month of January. Just one month, and just one mile at a time. Even setting that goal gave me a lift and already I felt better for making a decision to act.

The reality of repeating a daily challenge

The month started off great; I was excited for the challenge and happy to be doing it. I had set the goal with the intention of getting fitter, so that was what I was thinking about.

Around the end of week two and into week three was when I really had to dig in. It was becoming hard, I was tired, and I didn’t feel I was getting fitter yet. None of this sat well with my impatience and need to achieve, so it would have been all too easy to give up at that point.

But it was around that point in the month that I began to see the power in the small daily wins.

The hidden benefits reveal themselves

When you’re in the mood for it and feeling good, you don’t really notice what you’re achieving, you just do it. But when you really have to force yourself – and you still achieve it – that is something different. That’s when you start to build your self-confidence.

As the month progressed, I realised that my initial goal of getting fit wasn’t the actual point of all this.

The point was, I was taking back control. I was breaking the cycle of unhealthy habits and low feelings. I was empowering myself and building self-belief in my ability to achieve things.

I was starting to see light at the end of the tunnel. I didn’t have to stay stuck in that low place.

So in hindsight, my daily goal could have been anything for that month: drink 2 litres of water, record gratitude notes, meditate, walk 10,000 steps, switch my phone off at 9pm… anything.

The point was to stick to it – even when I didn’t feel like it – to push through a bit of a challenge, and to keep achieving. Every day.

The importance of small wins

Having this breakthrough and realising the importance of the small wins was what made me want to start coaching people. I wanted to help them feel the same sense of transformation, of empowerment and motivation. And to see how simple it is.

See the benefits of a 30 day challenge for yourself

From there, my Facebook Group “30 Day Challenge” was born! I wanted to create a space to help people set small goals for a month and stay accountable. I love this group and I’ve seen so many people go on to make great improvements in their lives as a result of starting with just one simple challenge and achieving it.

The doors are always open to the group – it’s free and it’s friendly and supportive. Hop in and join us sometime if you feel like you could use a bit of inspiration to challenge yourself and be held accountable.

Small steps can lead to great things.