Hi there! Welcome (back)! As many of you know, in 2014-2015, I started a series of monthly challenges and blogged about my experiences and lessons here. The challenges, given to me by my friends and family, varied from eating whole foods and meditating everyday to giving up make-up and disabling my iPhone. Each month posed a new challenge, both literally and metaphorically, but month by month I learned a little something more about myself and usually picked up some good habits along the way. It was pretty awesome.
After taking a long break from the blog and the challenges, I’m ready to get back at it. I miss trying something new every month and reflecting upon/sharing my experiences. So I’m bringing back the blog and opening up my willingness to be a human guinea pig once again, taking your suggestions for a challenge and trying them out. I can’t wait to see what great ideas you all come up with. Bring it on!
The rules this time will mostly remain the same. I’ll get a challenge and the issuer and I will sit down and decide the goals, rules, and purpose behind the challenge. I will then follow those rules for a month, sharing what I learn along the way, and conclude at the end of each challenge if the intended goal was met.
However, this time around I’d also like to share the love. With each new challenge, I will send out a message to my friends, family, and social network to see if anyone else wants to participate with me. If you’re up for it, you can participate at any level you want – from chatting/texting every so often, to writing a guest post on the blog if you’re so inclined! I think adding this social component is great because not only will it add to my own motivation, it can get others to experience new lessons and discoveries for themselves. I’ve always found that there’s strength in numbers.
The second season of Thirty Day Endeavors will kick off in April. I’ve decided the inaugural challenge will be one of the hardest yet – reducing SUGAR.
In April, I’ll be joined by my mom as we both try to reduce our daily consumption of added sugar down to the recommended intake (about 30 grams per day). Over the next week, I am going to track how much sugar I eat normally and finalize the rules for April. I’m also probably going to have to avoid going on an anticipatory sugar rampage!
So stay tuned, my friends! Start firing up your imaginations to come up with some challenges, and start reflecting on a challenge that you might like to join.
Oh, and welcome to Season 2!
Thirty Day Endeavors 
I think I’d like to join you in reducing sugars, with my birthday as an exception. My idea is related to this and the whole foods challenge (which I don’t remember) and is to eat 5 servings of fruits and vegetables a day. For myself, I would probably make it a rule that at least one or two between vegetables (maybe 1 green or non-starchy). Other ideas that come to mind include exercising or walking 20 minutes every day, reading a new academic source or writing a minimum of 30-60 minutes every day, or reaching out to a friend or family member (especially ones I don’t talk to as much) every day. For myself, I’ve been thinking about either reducing or eliminating TV (maybe not for a whole month) or, to help myself sleep, cutting off electronics at least 1-2 hours before bed.