On March 31st, I went live on Facebook and told the world that I wanted to challenge myself to be more consistent. I wanted to break the barriers of laziness and procrastination. So, I decided to start the #nodaysoff challenge – 30 days of jump rope, every day for the month of April.
Here is what I learned from my experience:
Consistency doesn’t make excuses
When I embarked upon this journey of jumping rope for 30 days straight, I didn’t realize the breadth of this commitment. I didn’t consider that #nodaysoff could mean coming straight from work and jumping rope in my workwear, sometimes as late as 10 PM. I quickly realized that, when committing to a goal, or a vision, excuses become irrelevant. I had to make up in my mind each day to commit to fulfilling the goal no matter what it took, even if it meant fulling the goal at the end of a long day when my muscles were sore or squeezing it in between other commitments.
Shifting Mindset
Once I settled into the rhythm of jumping rope each day – regardless of the circumstance – I realized that I could take that same motivation and way of thinking and adapt it to other areas of my life that required the same consistency – writing each day, reading more. Once the mental blocks were removed, I realized my perception was the only thing standing in the way of overcoming daily challenges that prevented me from being more disciplined.
Chain Reactions
An unexpected outcome of this challenge was the positive ripple effect that it had on my life. I started making healthier choices, cut carbs and sweets, and I even picked up meal prepping again as a way to combat eating out so often. Waking up early has always been difficult for me but, because I shifted my mindset to accept no excuses and “no days off,” I’ve been more successful at waking up as early as 4:45 AM to start my day.
Over the last 30 days, I have been so inspired by those who have joined me on this journey and by those who have simply been inspired to start jumping rope themselves. I encourage any and everyone to push themselves out of their comfort zones and challenge themselves to grow.
Thank you for your support.