Day 2: Concerned….30, 60, or 90 ?? Oh my !

DAY 2:

Today is my off day. The one day I designated to just relax and take care of only my personal needs. So nothing to report on the work end. As far as the water goes, nothing to exciting yet. As of this post, I’m right at a quart of lemon water and no significant changes;  just a lot of bathroom visits.

Now on to other matters. A POST within a POST.

 Concerned….30, 60, or 90 ?? Oh my !

I have some concerns. I have concerns over my goals and ideas for this blog. Before I detail my concerns, I want you to understand that, it is in my nature to second guess myself. Remember, I’m a perfectionist. I’m constantly trying to re-tweak and reshape things into perfection while always falling short of that destination. 

This latest battle started while I was writing a list of things that I wanted to work on in hopes of making my life better. What I noticed and began to understand, is that some of the things may not need a full 90 days to complete. Some may work better with 30 days or 60 days. But my blog is based around 90 days for everything.  The initial reason why I decided on 90 days was because I did a little research on the amount of time one needs to dedicated to something before a permanent change can be made. Well the research shows that it apparently takes 30 days to make something a habit. I can tell you that I have done things for 30 days before and found it quite easy to give that routine up and return to my previous behavior.  Maybe it’s just me.  Yet, and still, it is said, that it takes 30 days to make something a habit. Now I couldn’t find anything on 60 days. I just think that some challenges may lend itself better to a 60 day time frame. And finally 90 days…… I’m not sure where the original idea of 90 days came from but it is a staple in the Alcohol Anonymous  “AA” recovery plan. They are famous for the “90 meetings in 90 days” philosophy. Why 90 days?? Well I found a great Times Magazine article explaining the reason. The following is an excerpt from that article:

One important discovery: evidence is building to support the 90-day rehabilitation model, which was stumbled upon by AA (new members are advised to attend a meeting a day for the first 90 days) and is the duration of a typical stint in a drug-treatment program. It turns out that this is just about how long it takes for the brain to reset itself and shake off the immediate influence of a drug. Researchers at Yale University have documented what they call the sleeper effect–a gradual re-engaging of proper decision-making and analytical functions in the brain’s prefrontal cortex–after an addict has abstained for at least 90 days. Read more: http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1640436-3,00.html#ixzz19ulZBGl2

I know what you’re thinking. You’re thinking this is for addicts. But think about it. Aren’t we all addicted to something? It doesn’t have to be a drug, it can be food, a person, a lifestyle or even despair.  So if this is true, then a 90 day reset would make sense, right? This is one of the reasons why I chose 90 days. I also chose 90 days because I knew my first challenge had to be about work. My finances posed a great challenge in all areas of my life……. like LIVING! I don’t care what anyone says, when your money ain’t right, NOTHING AINT RIGHT !!!  I don’t need to be filthy rich like Oprah, but I would like to not, have to worry about whether, I can pay the rent this month. Also some of my other challenges will require me to spend  some money on supplies and/or classes. I have to first make the money to be able to spend the money. So you see, my first challenge had to involve my job as a life insurance agent. There was no way around it. And because of the industry I’m in “Insurance” it takes a minimum 30 days and sometimes up to 90 days to close just 1 case. In order for me to give it a fair shot and get an accurate feel, I could do no less that 90 days with this challenge.

My other concern is, KEEPING YOU INTERESTED. 90 days can be a long time to follow someone on a challenge which you have no interest. But then again, if you have no interest in the challenge, 30 days can be long too. Why is it important for me to keep your interest?? Well, the first reason is selfishly for me. I need and want your support. My second reason is that I love the “Anything In 90 Days” title. It came so easy and felt so right. I can’t say I feel the same about “Anything In 30 Days” or “Anything in 60 Days” although I have purchased those domain names too. My third and final reason has come as a bit of a surprise to me. You see, it turns out that, so far, I like this blogging thing. I find it has been a good outlet for me. So of course now, I would like to have a successful blog. And in order to have a successful blog, you need happy readers. Now me being me, this could all change tomorrow. However, this is how I feel today. So you see my dilemma? This is why I’m asking for your help. Should I change the days? start a 30 & 60 day blog too? Is it ok to keep this theme but to have some challenges not be 90 days? Should I force myself to do every challenge for 90 days?  How can I keep you from getting bored? Should I have you tell me what challenges I should do? You tell me, WHAT DO YOU THINK I SHOULD DO? (this is the part where you comment and let me know what you think) (Smiling)