30 Day Commitment for 28 Days

Try Something New for 30 Days, a Ted Talk by Matt Cutts, posted in 2011. As a  certifiable Ted Talk junkie during the spring and summer of 2011, I frittered away many an hour under the pretense of "learning," "mining for new ideas," and "pushing my thinking." Matt Cutts' piece stuck with me after the initial buzz.

Cutts' premise is that change sticks when it's small, manageable, and applied daily for 30 days. He offers examples of cutting out sugar, walking 10,000 steps a day, riding a bike, refraining from television. It's the wisdom of "one day at a time."

When I first saw Try Something New for 30 Days I was inspired. It was the middle of the month, so I chewed on my options and waited for the page to turn on the calendar:

• no coffee
• push-ups/day of the month 
• no sugar
• new vocabulary word each day
• take a photo a day (something Cutts did)
• go for a run every day

When the first of the month rolled around, I hadn't made up my mind about what to try. "One decision followed by action each day," might have been a good first challenge.

The first of the month lulled into the middle of the month. Indecision and inaction reigned. Another month crept over the horizon. Still no decision. Still no action. A third month and still no decision or action. By now I decided that what was a good idea was a good idea for someone else. No decision. No action. No commitment. I'm OK with moving on. I can accept my limits and my shortcomings.

Then last month my sister started taking a photo a day--something Cutts referenced in his talk. She had seen the video, was inspired, and did something (she's a better woman than I!). Her action prompted me to revisit Cutts' challenge and try something new for 30 days. 

(Deep breath. Inhale. Exhale.)

So, here it is. I'm putting it "out there." I'm going to write here each day for (a-hem, sorry but February is a short month) 28 days.

I'm not making any promises about quality of content. But I am making a promise to take action and do something that I say I want to do daily--write. Put out "there" some idea, word, thought that may or may not catch the wind. What's important to me is that I engage in the process and practice the discipline of writing on a daily basis.

Small steps on a daily basis = Behavior change that sticks.

Day One. Done.



Here's Matt Cutts' Ted Talk. Enjoy. What can YOU do for 30 (or 28) days?