Give Me A Year: A Personal Challenge

On the 8th of March 2018 I had an inspirational idea. I decided to challenge myself to tackle my motivation and to see how many experiences I could have in a year. I named it the #GiveMeAYear challenge and started monitoring exactly how far I could get in life over the period of that one year.

My first requirement was to identify common issues in my past that needed to be overcome in my future. Very quickly I realised that I frequently set unrealistic goals for myself. I realised even quicker that this was not only because of my at-the-time motivation level and approach to life, but because I never actually set any clear steps to achieving my goals. What did I want? What do I want? What do I need to do to get it? I strayed away from past goals and instead set a very broad task for myself - to simply see how far I could challenge myself, how many opportunities I would take and how many experiences I would have. Since setting this challenge for myself I believe that I have been more optimistic in my approach to every day life. Although good, I am sitting here realising that I did not set clear steps for myself, an important aspect of goal-setting.

Since setting this challenge for myself I believe that I have been more optimistic in my approach to every day life. Although good, I am sitting here realising that I did not set clear steps for myself, an important aspect of goal-setting. Thankfully, just last week I I realised that when I have great experiences it’s because i’ve Said yes to letting them happen. This helped me break down the steps to achieving my goals: Say yes more.

Where has 'Give Me A Year' lead me?

• In the last year before now I’ve done a lot but I feel like I’ve floated around in the same spot. I was physically in the same spot but mentally all over the place, with my thoughts caught up in many different projects. In the last couple of months I have found what keeps me feeling accomplished. Today, I strive to be organised and it’s something that I want to continue and challenge to see just how far I can get!

• I spent a lot of money which I didn’t really have. I have since learnt to budget and only spend money when need it and when it can be afforded, but it took me a very long time to grow into the role of an out-of-home adult. I'll admit that I slip up sometimes, and every day I’m learning.

• I spent a lot of time making goals but never actually doing any of the hard yards to achieve them. Today, I have a to do list, a dream board, goals and ways to achieve them, and motivation techniques.

• The day after I made the decision to begin my challenge, I actually scored a job interview and smashed it! I'm now employed by that company as a Court Monitor, which is so interesting and very much in line with my degree!

• I said YES to riding 80-something kilometres over 2 days! It was to raise money for CanTeen and it was amazing! It was at this event that I was also given the opportunity to share my cancer story in front of about 250 people. It was absolutely amazing and so empowering to be able to stand up and say 'Hey! This is what's happened, but I'm okay and I really want you to know first-hand how amazing this organisation is for people just like me!' Also I don't exercise much at all so this was a huge accomplishment for me!

• I GOT A CAT. I mean... Another cat. His name is Lorax, yes as in he speaks for the trees.

• I was chosen by CanTeen to be flown to South Australia for an Adventure Camp where we would be hiking and camping, which was super exciting. I was 1 of 2 people being flown in from Perth, Western Australia, which scared me and almost pushed me to refuse the opportunity. I am so so glad I went because I met some amazing people. I wrote about it while I was away so I will definitely post it on this site, because it was on this camp that I decided that I need to say yes more.

• Last night I faced my anxiety and realised that there is no better time than now to administer the PPP method, even when all I want to do is dwell on upsetting thoughts. From now on I am going to actively try to not concentrate on these thoughts, but instead acknowledge them and move on with my day.

This challenge is going to take me far, even if just mentally. I am genuinely so excited for the adventure that is life, and for everything I do and achieve related to saying YES, I will hashtag #GiveMeAYearChallenge.

A x