I think my brain is wired like so many other women's brains - I feel I have so many thoughts, plans, and ideas bouncing around in my head that I sometimes don't know which way is up. It can be hard to fully focus on one project or idea at a time because I quickly get distracted by another, more pressing project or task (why does this family expect me to constantly feed them?!?! j/k - kind of). I end most days wondering what happened to all of the time that day and why my list didn't get done. 

When it comes to resolutions or goals I want to go big or go home! Let's start a new rigorous workout regime to transform my body fully in 6 weeks, or go on a new diet and learn all new recipes. I end up spinning my wheels and never making it out of the planning phase before I burn out or I run myself ragged and my life becomes off balance in other areas due to the unsustainable amount of time and focus my challenge requires. 

For me, and I expect for you as well, the 'make one, break one' challenge is a fantastic way to incorporate just 1 new good habit into your busy day while also stopping 1 bad habit. Instead of feeling overwhelmed by trying to overhaul an entire area of your life - let's just take one micro-step in the right direction!

Here is how my challenge is working!

I am going to go backwards and start with the 'break one' portion. 

Sigh. This is so bad. And, I feel like in today's world, it is even more frowned upon. I LOVE soda. More specifically, I love Pepsi and Mountain Dew. If I am having a bad day, throw me one of those drinks, and the world seems to smile at me. I love it when I'm sad, stressed, happy, celebrating - just - always. I have 'quit' the habit many, many times before. Always, always it is HARD and I end up right back at the beginning multiple times. I typically avoid diet sodas due to chemicals (I know, I know, it makes no real sense as sugar is just as terrible). At times though, I'll allow myself diet sodas to help me break my sugar habit with normal soda. I don't really LOVE Diet Root Beer, but, it does scratch that soda craving, so, it's a nice substitute. However, two things always nag at me:

1 - I'm replacing a bad habit with a bad habit, so how is this a true win?

2 - This always seems to be a catalyst or a slippery slope for me to end up right back at drinking Pepsi as I still have soda, just not the one I truly want.

So, my 'break one' goal for this 30-day challenge: I will not drink soda for 30 days. 

For me, I also like accountability. I like making changes WITH someone so I have that person to help keep me going when I start to feel weak. 

But, I also know that the mind is a very powerful thing. I like to check boxes and I like to check items off a list. So, I created a little chart to help keep me focused and give me a 'box' to check off every day. Here it is if you'd like to download it and use it for free as well! 😊 (or you can download below) I'm all about helping a sister out! I love that it offers a little design for me to color in every day for my make habit and my break habit, so, it gives me a bit of time to do some introspection and thinking about my goals AND I can also see visual progress! 

Here is the beauty, to me, of the 'make one, break one' challenge. Instead of simply focusing on, "I will not drink soda, I will not drink soda, I will not drink soda" all day long - I have given myself a new habit to start. I am giving my mind something positive to focus on in order to distract it from the 'negative' habit I do not want to focus on. It's a fine balance of not wanting to overwhelm myself with a major overhaul that could set me up for failure, at the same time, make it so that I am focused on more than one thing. 

I have always enjoyed exercise. I love being able to go to the gym and push myself. I love running (well, that's a love-hate relationship as most runners will admit), I love going on walks, I love hiking, I love paddle boarding, kayaking. What I have struggled with over the years is finding the time and purposefully carving it out and making it a priority. My husband is an Air Force pilot so some of that was the difficulty of figuring out HOW to fit it in with littles running around and no back up at home to help. Sometimes it's just shear exhaustion of taking care of everyone else and running them to all of their activities. A year ago, I started having issues with plantar fasciitis and it quickly became a reason to stop running. When I was overwhelmed with the idea of starting back to running, I decided to take the advice I had given to countless patients over the years and just start small with a simple walk outside around the block. The Vitamin D from the sun has so many benefits. Walking has so many benefits. What I discovered is that I LOVED walking. I was not stressed or worried about a walk (like I would be about a run or a gym plan). Walking became a nice stress relief for me and it didn't leave me all sorts of sore the next day. But, still, trying to fit it in at a consistent time and at a consistent distance has been a struggle. I've done numerous "10k steps a day" challenges. I knew that was actually pretty hard and I remember walking the neighborhood in circles late at night trying to fit in all of the steps. So, in order to not overwhelm, but to instead do something that is pushing me a bit harder than normal, but still not going to stress me, I came up with a different walking challenge. 

My 'make one' goal for this 30-day challenge: I will go on a 3-mile walk daily.

So, instead of focusing on not drinking soda, I'm spending my time figuring out when will I fit my 3-mile walk in today. In full transparency, I have not set a specific time of day to do my walk. I have several reasons for that - odd schedule month with a graduation and company coming into town, a little family trip planned, working, and trying to figure out the best time of day with the Florida summer temperatures (and sun!) ramping up. 

Stay tuned and I will let you know how I progress!

So, what is your make one, break one? I would love for you to leave me a comment and let me know your goals! Make it something you can start today, or, tomorrow, at the latest! Make it small and sustainable, make is measurable and something you are interested in! You've got this!