The Greatness of The 30 Day Experiment

For some years now I’ve been putting myself to the test with the 30 Day habit experiment. It means you can create any new habit, or get rid of bad ones in 30 days, to improve yourself and increase your health and quality of life.

For me, it started with getting rid of sugar in my tea for 30 days. Then 30 days without sugar in my coffee. Now I cannot imagine putting any sugar in my tea and coffee anymore. Ulghh!

Then I started a 30 day Waking up early experiment. And that completely changed my life. There was so much I could do with that extra time it was awesome. These days I wake up early four or five times a week.

2 years ago I started to get migraine attacks. The rate of pain was 8 on a scale of 1 to 10. That pretty sucked. I tried a couple of things like reducing the time behind the computer, wearing my glasses continuously and getting enough sleep, but with no effect.

So I underwent dry needling therapy which reduced the migraine to 5 on a scale of 1 – 10, but it did not go away entirely. Then I started reading about migraine triggers and decided to stop with wine and chocolate completely for 30 days in a row. I also drank 2 glasses of water every day in that same period of time. The result was that the rate of pain went down to 3 on a scale of 1 to 10.

So I continued with another 30 days without wine and chocolate and drinking two glasses of water. The migraine attacks were gone entirely. A milestone in my 30 day experiments. 🙂

To keep motivated and focused on my 30 day goals, I have a calendar an put an X on each day I continue the habit. After a while I’ll have chain of X’s that grows longer with each day. Keeping the chain intact without breaking it for 30 days in a row will motivate me. The longer the chain, the more confident you get.

The funny thing with the wine is that I don’t long for it anymore. I don’t need it, I don’t miss it, I don’t even think about it anymore even when it’s on the table, and it hasn’t diminished the quality of my life in anyway.

Some say, “If I stop drinking alcohol, smoking, or eating steak, I can just as well stop living”. That’s because they think they need those things in order to live the good life. But once you’ve passed the 30 days you will discover you don’t feel that way at all anymore. The craving is gone. And the truth is, there are a million other things in life that will give you that same feeling of fulfilment and excitement.

Nowadays, I can enjoy a glass of wine if I want to, but the urge is not there anymore. Before when I had a busy day I’d use to say “Jee, I could really use a glass of wine right now” And I love it that i lost that voice in my head. I don’t feel that dependency anymore. I feel free.

The same thing I had with coffee. While I only drank two cups of cappuccino a day I felt some sort of dependency. I needed the boost. So since two weeks I stopped drinking coffee and cappuccino. Instead I drink green tea and Pu-erh tea. I love both of them. Another 30 day experiment. This time it’s not to cure the migraine, but just to see what it will do and how I will feel afterwards. Let’s get it on!

Here are some of my other accomplished 30 day experiments (some of them sticked):
– 30 day of vegetarian
– 30 days of Wim Hof Method
– 30 days of learning a challenging guitar solo
– 30 days of meditating
– 30 days without TV
– 30 days without cell phone
– 30 days of jumprope
– 30 days of stretching
– 30 days of reading 50 pages a day

The result is that I feel happier, healthier and more energetic after all of my 30 day experiments. Even during the experiment I feel more confident, stronger and alive with each day I progress. And some of the habits last and become permanent.

It’s always great challenge but in the end absolutely rewarding. Here are some of the things I want to do in the future:
– 30 days of running
– 30 days of blog writing
– 30 days without added sugars (only sugars that naturally occur within the food)
– 30 days of facing my fears
– 30 days of pull-ups, pushups and sit-ups
– 30 days of writing songs
– 30 days of decluttering, reducing, eliminating, and letting go

The 30 day experiment can be a life saver and will definitely improve the quality of your life. Try it out! You’ve got nothing to lose and a lot to gain.

Have you any experience in the 30 day experiment? What would you love to do or eliminate for 30 days in a row? Please share in the comments.

I’d love to hear from you!