Ideas for 30 Day Challenges (Part 3)

As you may have noticed, I've gotten pretty excited about this 30 Day Challenge thing and all the directions it can go. (I believe I mentioned that I tend to have a lot of interests that frequently change when describing what the 30 Day Challenge was all about...)


You've already seen ten of my ideas for future challenges (Ideas for 30 Day Challenges (Part 1) and Ideas for 30 Day Challenges (Part 2)) and here are five more:


No TV: For me, this is probably the most difficult of all my challenge ideas so far. I'm single, so the TV is my companion when I'm home--I turn on SportsCenter first thing in the morning, watch Law & Order marathons while I clean my house, and follow the Food Network while catching up on e-mail. And I do admit that my TV addiction sometimes prevents me from sleeping, being social, and being active--so for 30 Days, I'd like to keep the TV off (unless I'm doing an exercise DVD and see how I feel. More productive? More rested? Or more bored?


Meditation: There are many that tout the benefits of daily meditation--peace, clarity, focus, etc. and although I have tried meditation before, I, again, probably haven't given it the attention and commtiment that it takes to truly gain all the benefits. So, for 30 days I'd meditate every day for at least 15 minutes.


Connect with a Friend: Although I'm extremely lucky to have good friends all over the world, I'm afraid I'm not always the best at keeping in touch and I often feel bad about that, but don't take the action I should. Every day for 30 days, I would reach out individually to 30 of my friends and see where it takes me...


Run/Walk: I haven't fully developed this one yet. A little background--about two years ago I trained to walk a marathon just to have a doctor tell me four days beforehand that I shouldn't go. I've barely done a thing since then and I'd like to get back into it--and maybe even run. So, for this goal I'm thinking of setting a goal to run or walk a mile a day (maybe two miles a day?) or follow some type of plan like The Runner's World 8-Week Beginning Runner's Training Program. Somehow, for 30 days, I'd focus on exercise, improving my endurance, and maybe rediscover the joy and commitment I once had.


Detox Diet: In October of 2011, I followed a detox diet laid out by my friend and knowledgeable nutritionist, Lory Benson. It was tough to go for 21 days with no red meat, no caffeine, no alcohol, no sugar, no nightshade vegetables, and no gluten, but I felt great afterwards (I also lost nine pounds). Work then got in the way and I pretty much lost all the benefits I'd gained. While she hasn't announced her dates for 2012 yet, I'd like to do it again...but make a full 30 day commitment and give myself more time to really "get it."


Although I've already decided my challenges for December 2011 and January 2012, I will re-examine all of these challenge ideas (and others you all think of) in January and figure out where I'm going to go next!