If It Doesn't Challenge You ... It Doesn't Change You
'Challenges make you discover things about yourself that you never really knew' Cicely Tyson
As we approach our 40th birthdays we feel inspired to think about things we want to do at this stage in our lives. We didn't hit the goal of having children so what else can we do to push ourselves and leave a legacy?
As you already know, Ben had the idea of coming up with 40 challenges to hit before we are both 40 (thankfully as my birthday is only 3 months away whereas Ben's give us an extra 13!). Coming up with 40 is a challenge in itself but we've got the first 20 down and committed to paper. We have already spoken about this in recents blogs, vlogs and via facebook but this piece is about exploring how we can stay committed and actually achieve the things on this list.
Sharing the challenges has already given us added motivation to actually achieve them so feel free to check up on how we're doing at any time! We also NEED YOU. Challenge number 1 is to get 100 people to think of and work towards their own personal challenge so come on board! The challenges can be anything that push you further in a new direction than you would normally or naturally go. Physical, mental, wellbeing challenges, learning something new, taking a risk, putting yourself out there. We are always inspired by our friends doing incredible things so if 100 of you are also challenging yourself then people around you will get inspired too ... and so it spreads. If you haven't yet told us about your challenge then get in touch, find us on facebook and join the party!
Although we've got 16 months to achieve all of these things, some of them require lots of time and preparation so this is how we're managing the mission:
1. Make the most of every day
We've both got busy lives as teachers and often have 12 hour days, sometimes more. In order to fit in the training required for some of the exercise based challenges we are getting up extra early to get it done before we've even begun the working day. Ben was up at 5am 4 times this week to get his bike and run sessions in and I've managed a few too. It sounds brutal but I think we're actually even happier for it! That endorphin surge is happening at breakfast time and we're feeling fresh and like we're already smashing the day before 7am! It's also a great feeling to know that we do get home in the evenings we can focus on other things whether that be taking some time to relax or work on other stuff - like writing this!
Seizing the day and exercising early is the way to go!
2. Be open and ask for help
To be honest I am completely daunted buy the aim of meeting someone from every country but if I don't believe we can do it, then we never will. Ben has already filmed conversations with some wonderful people from interesting places and has been recording their view on what happiness is. The ball is rolling! I am working on being more like him - not afraid to tell people what we're doing and asking them to be a part of it. I've recruited two awesome South Africans this morning and they seemed happy to get involved. One of the biggest hurdles in my life is being quite shy so this challenge is pushing me in more than one aspect already.
Aiming to meet someone from every country is a daunting task but here goes ...
This guy in Vietnam was an absolute radiator!
3. Enjoy the process
We are going to try everything we can to complete these challenges but if we don't, that's OK. We've put ourselves out there and given it a go. They are aspirational and we will give it our all but the result doesn't really matter because we know that by attempting them we will grow, develop, learn and be better. At my school this week we had our annual scholars' dinner and I listening to one of my pupils, a 13 year old girl speak with confidence and humility about achieving her academic scholarship to her senior school, but also the fact that she went for an art scholarship and didn't get it. She doesn't regret a single second that she put into her art because she created her best work that she is personally proud of. She told us that the experience of trying and failing has strengthened her and that the process was more important than the result. Awesome.
At 30 our goal was marriage and children ... now we want to push ourselves to do things for others, including you! Photo by @flukeshot
So, incase you haven't seen them ... here are our first 20 challenges:
1. Get 100 people to take on a challenge - we're on the road and people are committing which is so inspiring. We'll be getting a board or piece of paper to record who's up to what so we can follow your inspirational journey.
2. Complete an Ironman (Ben) - This will be the one and only for Ben. It has to be done but the training time needed to do yourself justice isn't sustainable long term. So 2019 is the year!
3. Run and ultra marathon (Ben) - Same as above. Ben has been inspired by the incredible achievements by our friends John and Graham (brothers) and is desperate to get in on the action.
4. Represent GB again (Ben) - This is a little more in the hands of other people but at least currently Ben is in with a chance of re-qualifying. After his race in Rome he achieved the qualification criteria and now just has to wait and see if he is one of the 20 selected for the European Championships in 2019. But it's a long wait and he probably won't find out until October or November.
5. Do the London Marathon (Ben) - This one is a long her dream of Ben's but he's always held off until he's in condition to run the time he believes he's capable of (sub 3 hour). But there's never a better time than now so let's go for it!
6. Run a 10K (Mary) - I've never really run more than 7km but I believe I'm capable of this now that my injuries have cleared up. So here we go!
7. Do a half marathon (Mary) - And while on the running vibe why not set myself a half marathon goal. Who knows what it might lead to...
8. Learn 3 songs on the guitar, and play them in assembly (Ben) - Ben can't even play a chord yet but he did ask for a guitar at Christmas. So rather than watching it gather dust he has challenged himself to learn some songs and maybe even play them in front of his school in an assembly! Nothing like fear as a motivator.
9. Get our schools to ban all single use plastics - This has already started. Ben brought it up in a staff meeting this week and will be looking in to ways to complete the transition (his school is along the road with this). I'll be bringing it up soon.
10. Form at least 5 plogging sessions - This is a new Swedish craze that we love the sound of. It's jogging whilst picking up litter. So more of a social meet that true exercise but hey, it gets people out in to the great outdoors and helps the environment so what's not to like. Watch this space for a plogging call to arms.
11. Meet somebody from every country in the world - Already under way. If you know someone from an obscure country, please pop over to our facebook page and tag them so that we can communicate with them and maybe set up meeting them.
12. Make a vlog every week - Loving this! It's so much fun and keeps us out of trouble so why wouldn't it be a target.
13. Get 1K subscribers on Youtube - We're at 100! Just 900 more to go but that is where our vlogs will be published and will be separate from facebook content so make sure you subscribe so you don't miss anything.
14. Get 10K followers on Instagram
15. Get 5K likes on our facebook page - These are both just to help get our message out there
16. Volunteer 40 charitable hours - If you are part of a charity or know someone who is then we're pledging 40 hours to volunteer with anyone who needs us. Speed the word.
17. 40 random acts of kindness - Because we can!
18. Raise £5,000 for charity - This will be part of the London Marathon process hopefully.
19. Surf Hawaii - OK this is already going to happen but it's been a dream of hours for over 10 years so I think it's fair that it goes on here...
20. Meet Jay Shetty - an inspirational man with a beautiful message. We'd love to meet Jay, even if only for 30 minutes, and pick his brain. He could even be our English person on the country challenge.
Next weekend we're off to Copenhagen and my little buddy that we're visiting is in the process of writing us another 40 challenges to complete in the not-quite 4 days that we're there! That will be our number 21 and we're bust thinking about the rest. You can follow our trip and the 40 (plus!) things we get up to on Instagram - see you there!