Sometimes we set a goal and we succeed and accomplish the goal far beyond our expectations.  Sometimes we set a goal and succeed.  Sometimes we set a goal and do not accomplish our intended goal, but find successes resulting from that goal.  That is what happened this time around for my 30 Day challenge.  Why was it harder to complete a challenge where I only had to go to bed early and get up early?  How was doing squats easier?

At the beginning of May I decided to challenge myself for 30 days to go to bed early – by 10 but no later than 10:30 and rise by 6, no later than 6:30.  I allowed to give myself a star reward sticker on my calendar in the morning if I accomplished both.  Let me say, half way through I gave up on rewarding myself.  Some would say that this 30 day challenge was not successful.  The plan was to get to bed earlier so I could wake up earlier to exercise before work.  I think that might have happened once.

On the other hand, I did accomplish something.  Most nights I did get to bed by 10:30.  There were 5 – 10 nights that I probably got to bed after that.  I started to read a novel and read before I went to bed, which turned in to a couple 1am bedtimes.  There were other nights that I was visiting friends about an hour away and so I got home late.  These things you have to take into account and be ok with them.  They happen. The month helped me realize that yes, I can stop what I am doing and go to bed at a decent time – 10:30 pm.

I had a hard time waking up at 6:30, and rarely woke up at 6.  Maybe a few times in the beginning of the month.  But I was up a majority of the days by 7 am which allowed me to get to work for 8 am.  This was a great accomplishment for me!  It also meant that I could go home earlier in the day, which is also a bonus!  I’m not a morning person, but I try.

So my 30 day challenge wasn’t as successful as I wanted it to be, but I did accomplish something our of it.  Getting to bed at a regular and earlier time for most of the month and getting to work for 8am!

My thoughts on why it was hard – Maybe I wasn’t so motivated.  It took more effort to make sure I planned my night time better so I could get to bed early. My bed is warm and comfy in the morning and I didn’t want to get out!  I’ve had 7 months of not having to get up early in the morning because of being a student and having my own schedule.  I didn’t sleep in late all the time, but getting up 1 or 2 hrs earlier than I did for those 7 months has been an adjustment for me.

Why were squats easier? You can do them anywhere at anytime. I was more motivated.  It didn’t cut in to my sleep time or my comfy warm bed.

I’ll continue to work on waking up early, just like I try to continue to incorporate squats (ummm… honest truth I only did them a few times since the challenge ended).  Sometimes we have successes and sometimes we don’t, and that is OK.  We just continue on this journey of trying to life a healthier lifestyle one day at a time.

Are you the one who gets up all chipper and sings and makes loud noises when you wake up and annoys the one who needs at least an hour of alone time and a pot of coffee before they speak to anybody in the morning?  Can you guess which one I am!?  Drop me a line in the comments. I’d love to hear from you!

* Photo from Cheezburger.com