Character is built by making small decisions every day. There is no BIG decision that does it.

Changing anything about oneself is difficult. Benjamin Franklin did it and he is much admired. Of course he was a genius which probably helped. Still it is often desirable to make changes. Stopping a bad habit like smoking or drinking could be the change you need. Or it might be organizational skills or time management that you are after. The point is that it is hard to do.

I have been doing a 21-day challenge devised by my grandson, who is called Charley Pendragon.https://www.charleypendragon.com/ It has woken me up and changed the way I operate on a daily basis. There are many choices that newcomers to the challenge can pick. You can agree to write a certain amount each day, eat correctly, or do a sport or exercise plan. I decided to commit to meditating for 10 minutes each day.

So far, I have not missed a day. And because there is a competitive component to my character, I have made it my practice to meditate for 15 minutes, even though I don’t have to.

Better than that, it is so great to spend calm and reflective time, that some days a second or even a third practice is completed. It is changing my entire life. I make my bed, feed the birds, write articles, go to Pilates class, do errands, cook healthy meals and send emails to friends in need. Somehow there are more hours in the day, now.

My diet is also transformed. During this period, I am not drinking alcohol, and every effort is made to eat within a short 5 or 6-hour window of time every day. (Exception was made for the Superbowl which I watched with some family members.) Other than that day when I ate a great deal of homemade guacamole, which I made myself, and ONE chili dog at around 7:30 pm, there has been no other cheating.

I have lost a few pounds!

There is more to this than simply the dragonslayer challenge. Several people have shared with me that they lost a great deal of weight using the drug Ozempic. Drugs bother me. Being dependent on them, paying lots of money for them and the side effects that come along with them, cause me to avoid them at all costs. I discovered that these people who lost weight did so because the drug made them eat a lot less food. Hmmmm. “I can eat less without a drug,” I thought. I know eating less food will make you slimmer. So, I am going to try to do that without the drug. And eating in a short window of time, helps the process. That is my small plan. Simple, and uncomplicated.

These decisions shows me how important even small changes can be in one’s life. Some people set such grand goals. They over-face themselves before they even begin. It is not important how big your commitment. The important part is, how committed are you? Even a tiny change makes a difference. The Butterfly effect is real.??

Begin today. Pick something to be consistent with and set your own challenge. Or better yet, wait to take on the next challenge with Charley Pendragon. I believe it starts on March 1st. Just think, we are halfway through this month. You have just over two weeks to pick your challenge!

Good luck!

Copyright©. 2024 Bonnie B. Matheson