33 Gentle-- My third time around.

 

In a gentle way, you can shake the world-- Mahatma Gandhi

    Have you heard about the 75 hard challenge? It's INSANE, I tried it once and it didn't even last 5 days. I just could not get that extreme with something, I felt intense pressure and the feeling of failure was right behind it. So, I quit it and never looked back but took something else from it-- the inspiration to create a challenge that fit my own needs and at my own pace. 

    Say hello to 33 GENTLE, a program in which you create a daily practice where you can learn to love the way you live. There is no failing and no one way to do it. The only thing that you need to bring with you is the intention to tune into your mind, body, and heart, and learn more about what makes you feel good being YOU. 

    This challenge/practice helps you figure out what you need to feel loved, accepted, and WHOLE by just being who you are. We all fall into ruts and create habits that don't serve our well-being and this challenge is to help break free from the things that we no longer want in our lives and replace them with things that make us feel good and serve a purpose in creating a healthy life. 

    This is my third round of this program. In January of this year (2022) I was feeling extremely burnt out. I journal every morning and I was really getting down and feeling my depression overcome everything. I didn't want to spiral, I needed to get out of it, and then I just started writing about what I NEEDED and I ended up writing up a complete challenge for myself and it WORKED! My life was busy and it was really challenging at first because I started out a little too ambitious with my goals. The second time around I asked my sister and a friend to join me this one was spread into two different challenges. I kept reworking how I could fit it easily into my daily life. I didn't want to add too much to my plate but I needed it to feel challenging yet doable. 

    This time, I've graduated from college and I have a whole summer to tune in and reconnect. I've yet again revamped it and would love to invite anyone to join me if they feel like this is something they need in their life. Keep on reading if you'd like more information on how it came to be and what I'm doing this time around. 

    The rest of this blog is bits and pieces out of my Journal on that dark depressing January day.

    "I am feeling really worn down and depressed I feel exhausted and unmotivated to do anything. I feel pressure coming from all areas in my life and none of it feels very good at all. All I want to do is smoke a nice big joint and hide in a dark room with nothing to do but just be alone. I'm trying to be brave and do what I need to do but it's all too much and I just can't right now."

    "I feel extremely disconnected from myself I'm overwhelmed and I need to get back up. This is too much. Winter Blues? My seasonal depression gets the best of me and I hate that I just have to keep faking to be okay." 

    "I feel completely overstimulated and I feel like I'm not going to make it through this shit. This is really LOW but I wanna go UP. I really do."

    The reason I love journaling so much is that I can usually turn my mood around a bit by just having a good session writing... letting all the feelings out and that's exactly what happened.

    "I am sad. I need to let myself be sad and feel all that I'm feeling! I can still show up even with this sadness even with the overwhelm. I need to find a way to who up for my life. No numbing! No AVOIDING!"

    "Show up no matter where I am -- find consistency being there for ME. Showing up creates the change. Show up and I KNOW the Universe will provide." 

    At this point, I took a moment with my cards and my ACIM and connected to that higher part of me that KNOWS my strengths and she came through.

    "The WHY... Because my body deserves it. My mind requires it. My heart wants to express it. I'm tired of these same old patterns and I really need the change. I need the challenge. I'm feeling a disconnect to the magic and I need a little jump start. The PUSH is there and I'm tired of always pulling back."

    And then I began to list all of the things my BODY deserves... the simple things that my MIND deserves and lastly, I listed out the desires of my HEART. My list of needs may or may not look like anyone else's and that's why this is so fun because it is unique and focused completely on YOU.

    So, that is how this program began. I call it 33 Gentle because the challenge is a total of 33 days which just so happens to be a fav number of mine. Gentle because LIFE IS HARD friends and I know I am not the only one who struggles with loving and being kinder to myself. Gentle for the forgiveness which takes away the shame and the fear. For me, this has been more motivating and a really magical time. I've been able to move through some really heavy shit with each round and I am having fun doing it. Not that it's easy because it's meant to shake you up but each week or even day that I check off those goals helps me understand myself just a little bit better. I either feel good or I feel like crap but I've got something and with that, I begin... I tweak and change and just keep figuring out how to feel better by doing better and I love it.  

    Here's how it plays out...

• The First day is coming up with your WHY-- similar to how my journal went. 

• The Second day is getting everything prepped. What do you need to do to get ready for the challenge?

• The Third day is a quiet ceremony/celebration where you prioritize YOU. Do all the things that feel good. Say yes to you. Have a moment to yourself to get excited for the challenge that you've created for yourself. Read your "WHY" and make sure you have all the things you need to create a successful practice. 

• The following 30 days are the practice days. There are no rules only to KEEP GOING. I'd recommend a journal so that you can work through anything that comes up for you. 

    After you complete the challenge CELEBRATE! Take a day to celebrate your successes and go over what didn't feel so great. This is a challenge to learn how to love yourself exactly as YOU are RIGHT HERE AND RIGHT NOW! 

    Here's a template you can make your own. But if you'd like to join me on my third round I'd love to have you join. I get started next FRIDAY! July 1st. I plan on having some videos explaining MORE about this program. 

    Let me know if you'd like to join me for this round. Accountability always makes it more fun. Having a space to share or to just witness is always helpful for me so I've created this for a small group if anyone is up for the challenge. 

    Fill this little form out so I can send you more info. XOXO