Friday Challenge – Appreciating What You Have By Giving Something Up

Friday Challenge – Week 2

Welcome to week 2 of the Friday Challenge, a set of articles written for us by Shelley Wilson as a gift to you the reader. Author of How I Changed My Life In A Year, Shelley is sharing some of her own challenges with us and motivating us to make our own lives better.

If you missed week 1 here is a link to the post http://wp.me/p2Eu3u-5MH

Over to Shelley…

Can You Appreciate What You Have By Giving Something Up?

 

After taking part in this year’s Cancer Research Dryathlon, whereby I refused all alcohol for the month of January, I decided to carry this challenge on and am now tee-total (nine months and counting). Don’t panic readers, we’re not asking you to give up your Friday night glass of vino… well not yet anyway!

 

In my book How I Changed My Life in a Year, I dedicated an entire chapter to giving up the demon drink. For my month seven challenge, to appreciate what I have by doing without, I had to come up with four other activities to forgo.

 

With the television, Facebook and my car eliminated from my life for a single week each, I felt much better. More time to write, no incessant stream of notifications and increased exercise were the benefits of my challenge. The fourth week, however, was a very different story. At my twelve-year old daughter’s request, I gave up wearing black clothing. A simple task you may think, but oh no!

 

Here is an excerpt from my book.

 

I realised the magnitude of this challenge when, on day one, with bleary eyes and bed hair, I fished around in my underwear drawer for any other colour of pants! (Note to self – pants situation critical.)

 

   Fast forward to the 3 p.m school run and thank goodness for blue denim.

 

   With two minutes to spare I stood in my jeans and bra (white one) looking at 25 black tops. If I turned up at school in just my underwear, my daughter would disown me, then I remembered a multi-coloured T-shirt I’d bought for an eighties fancy dress party – yes, I wore it.

 

   I didn’t think it was possible for an eye roll from a twelve-year old to stop me in my tracks, but hey, this challenge was never going to be easy.

 

Giving up wearing black clothing may have seemed a trivial goal but it certainly made me appreciate my wardrobe and think about my image. Interestingly, as I opted for a more colourful palette, I noticed a change in my moods and emotions. Leaving the dull, dreary black clothing behind meant I filled my life with reds, pinks and greens and benefited from a little colour therapy along the way.

 

Challenge accepted and achieved. It can help us to appreciate what we have in our life by giving something up, so I extend my challenge to you – Give something up such as twitter, diet coke or taking the car and embrace the experience.

 

‘How I Changed My Life in a Year’ – http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00KAAUE88

Also on Amazon.com

 

Find Shelley on Twitter http://www.twitter.com/ShelleyWilson72

We’re back next Friday with another challenge.