Day 30 - One third in!

It's only just after lunch now, but I wanted to nail a few things about the 1/3 mark!  There are a few negatives, but I'm saving those for another time. Maybe Day 45!?

New habits

We've put down the spade work for the challenges of the next two months. The first times you say 'no' to things it feels like a big step, then it becomes just your habit. Your habit becomes something that is part of you and you wouldn't do it any other way. When people say 'It's my habit' as an excuse for eating or drinking too much or not exercising, they really mean 'I don't care enough to do something different'. Habits are either your greatest ally or your worst enemy depending on how they impact your life.

The body speaks

Everyone is showing some changes, big in some places, and small in others. 

I'm suprised at how much my torso is flattening and my legs are bulking up. I feel more present in my own body. This gives me hope that the next two months work is going to yield results. 

Our community

I've received so much encouragement from my team, those ahead of me, and those who've already completed. This helped me face the situation in Japan and to push on with the PCP. You can always find a blog post that gives you ideas, inspiration, a reality check, a nudge. Whatever you need to hear, it'll be out there. If I was doing this on my own, I'd have given up on Day 2. I know it's going to get harder (and it should) and I'm looking forward to seeing everyone's journey. 

Oh, and the greatest thing is that rather than feeling jealous of other people, I feel in their corner. I want them to lose that bit of weight or build muscle or complete their V sit-ups. This feeling of generosity, of wanting others to be fabulous and flourish, doesn't happen often enough for me. But when you see the comments people give you can't help wanting to be a part of it. 

[ SIDE RANT

At the risk of sounding like a conspiracy theorist, I do believe that so many situations in life nudge us to compare ourselves to others in an unhelpful way. Look at how people buy clothes in a shop. They always avoid looking too closely at fellow shoppers, but there is always a glance, an interrogation. In the UK last year as I was holding up a sweater to myself and looking in the mirror. A middle-aged lady walked past and exclaimed 'Looks lovely!' and was gone before I turned from the mirror. This is the kind of celebratory attitude we can take to others. But all too often we see each other as competitors. PCPing is a refreshing break from all that nonsense]

Self knowledge

Doing the same challenge each day teaches you about yourself. Negative things include being too quick to think a set is over, over thinking, procrastinating, being embarrassed exercising in front of strangers, being prideful exercising in front of strangers. Good things - I'm a fairly mean cook, I like sleep, I can be disciplined if I know what is expected.