Mark Farmer
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4 months on. How’s the Facebook time; what, in retrospect, did the Challenge do for you and, most importantly: what goal(s) you working on now!?
Stephreid67! You can’t imagine (or maybe you can) the smile on my face when I logged in today and saw your name 😀 Fun, fun, fun to see you here.
Have been talking with Odmaa about this topic, too: control. She’s working on a HUGE goal for herself, Green Card application. She’s been hugely stressing out about it. I was trying to understand why it was causing such anxiety in her, then realized there was a disjunct: all this time she’s been visualizing it as a “product” goal, something to hurry up and finish.
Knowing the size and complexity of the goal I’d always visualized it as a *PROCESS* goal: it’s one of those goals that’s so large and has enough of it OUT of your control that… the best you can do is start at “A”, proceed to “B” and work your way through the maze, until you finally get to “Z.”
But SUPER hard to let go of control when we are working on a goal that means so much to us.
Loving your point, Jeffrey about letting go of control. Thanks for kicking this discussion off.
Jeffrey! So happy to see you in the Community and LOVE your point. Congrats on the successful race!
Your point is huge: about the only thing that you are ASSURED is that… things will not work out exactly as you thought they would. Curious:
– How did you deal with the psychology / disappointment of fearing your goal might not be reached? Think that mindset is SO important; and
– What are you current goals with running / racing?
Eight years is a HUGE amount of time to be away from home :'( the homesickness must be HUGE.
I moved from my city of birth to get away from it, but after about 5 years even _I_ was homesick. Such a weird feeling, homesickness – for me it was an empty, sharp pain in my stomach, my solar plexus that just hurt in a way I had never felt before.
Curious to hear: have you set your goal to paper? With tangible steps? And, for those of the Community that don’t know you, where are you from / where are you longing to get back to?
My Superpowers:
- Freakishly intuitive
- I can always see the other side
- A near obsessive need to see what is not being seen (that is, you/I/we see X… what is underneath X, actually causing it?)
Other’s?
I know the #1 question people usually ask when they see a suggestion like this is, “So… you’re saying I should ‘throw away’ all of my other life-long friends!?”
And by all means, if there’s interest, let’s talk about that. But first tell me: what comes up for YOU, reading this post?
Let’s talk about what it brings up and how it works in your life.
My End of Challege Report!
1) How did you first hear about the LSE 21 Day Challenge?
I INVENTED IT! Duh 🙄🤣2) Why did you accept the LSE 21 Day Challenge?
It was/is time to CHANGE. I’ve been experiencing 2-6 migraines a week for far too long. On top of that I’ve required medication to function – medication that you’re SUPPOSED to only take 2-3 times a MONTH or else it kills your liver. Enough is enough. This HAS to change, my life depends on it.3) What was your goal?
Ugh: Lemme go back to the beginning and see what I wrote. [I’m back:}- 14 or more days, in bed before 2 am
- 7 days or more lights out before 2 am (both can be on the same day e.g. in bed and lights out before 2 counts as success for both of these)
- Aiming for 7+ hours of sleep for 14 days of the 21
- Strictly recording my bedtime for at least 18 of the 21 days of this challenge
4) Which success-related or motivational product(s) did you rely on during the Challenge and which do you feel were the most important to your success? Why were these important to your success?
- The Wellue Wearable Pulse Oximeter – Rechargeable O2ring Bluetooth Oxygen Saturation Monitor
- Sleep as Android Sleep Monitoring App
- Mouth Tape
- Sleep Fairy Natural Sleep Aid
- L-Tryptophan 1000 Mg
- A Sleep Journal to track my sleep
- Why We Sleep: Unlocking the Power of Sleep and Dreams Paperback – by Matthew Walker PhD
- The Life Success Engine Forums!
Of these the O2 ring (immensely helpful for automatically monitoring my sleep and testing for apnea), mouth tape (helped getting my apnea under control; improved quality of sleep), tryptophan (hugely helpful for working to change my circadian rhythm) and the LSE Mastermind (inspiration, motivation and monitoring) were the most important and useful.
5) When did you realize that you were serious about doing this 21 Day Challenge?
Even before the challenge I knew this NEEDED to change.6) What were the first results that you noticed in your 21 Day Challenge?
The first major breakthrough was about 1 1/2 weeks in: the 2nd day I went to bed by 2am, with mouth tape, sleeping 7.5 hour. It was LITERALLY the first time I’ve woken up feeling rejuvenated in 20 years or more? It was profound.7) How did you measure “success”? In terms of that definition, what success did you reach?
Honestly this was just a day-by-day thing. I had so many F’ ups it was crazy, each time sending me back to massive migraines for 2-4 days until I could get back on track again. “Success” for me, for most of the challenge, was simply me getting to bed before 4am (early for when I had been sleeping), getting anything more than 7 hours (more than the 3-6 I had been getting, but still less than the 7.5 MINIMUM I need) and being able to handle the next day’s headache (it has been rare, rare, rare that I’ve woken without a headache so tha the measure is whether I need prescription medication). Waking without a headache has been nearly unthinkable8) Success is rarely achieved alone. Whose support did you rely on during this Challenge and what difference did that support make?
The fact you guys were doing a Challenge alongside me was deeply motivating!9) Many people trying for a success larger than they already have will experience new, sudden and perhaps serious obstacles when they begin to work towards their dream. Quitters say, “Oh, well, something came up. That’s why I had to give up on my goal.” Winners say, “Yes there were challenges, and here’s how I handled them to reach my goal anyway.” How did you succeed in SPITE of the obstacles?
Again, this was something that HAD to change. I wish, wish, wish I were someone that never had to get his back against the wall before mustering the energy to change something… but we all can be that stubborn sometimes. But this, my life literally depended on it.10) Motivation waxes and wanes. What might start off as a fire in your soul quickly becomes drudgery the 5th… or 10th… or 15th… day. Did you ever feel like quitting? If “yes,” how or what did you do to renew your commitment to succeed? How did you persist even when your motivation was flagging?
That magical first day I woke feeling completely rested and rejuvenated. I’d thought I’d never experience that again – that waking with horrible aches and a headache and needing massive amounts of coffee and a few hours to wake was simply “normal” after age 40. But that magic morning – that, honestly, I have not experienced yet again – left me determined to do WHATEVER I need to… to have MORE mornings like that.11) What was the most powerful thing you gained from your Challenge? What did you learn about yourself from this Challenge?
Again I learned that my home environment is DEEPLY affecting of my quality of sleep and, even more, the quality of my life leading to sleep. I discovered that I CAN awaken feeling refreshed. I discovered that I don’t have to live with migraines. I’ve regained motivation, peace and far better health!12) How has your life changed by deciding to accept the 21 Day Challenge?
I feel well on track for ACTUALLY getting this sleep issue under control for a healthy and joyous life.13) Why should someone participate in a future 21 Day Challenge?
It changes your life.14) If you could inspire one person to begin their success in a 21 Day Challenge, who would that be? Why would you choose that person? How would you help them succeed?
Oof… I now a TON of people from Facebook whose lives are experiencing challenges. I’d invited many of them and… most never joined. I “get” it: life IS hard and more so when you’re down and out. But nothing changes… until you change something. And the LifeSuccessEngine.com Challenge is set up to meet you where you are and make room for what EVER you can give. There are not huge expectations; no impossible requirements; nothing to buy. It’s all free and designed to powerfully support you where you are to change your life. THEM. I’d want THEM to come along the next time. <3Continue your habit of DOING – Email that person… NOW, a copy of or link to your thread.
I’ll post this challenge report to my Facebook page. I hope that inspires them to come along for the journey next time!Sweet deal on the ring. And thanks for the tips on benefits of being a past customer. I, myself, and very curious about the ring – would love if you started a thread detailing more info or showing screen shots of what it presents and sharing what / how it contributes towards your life or goals.
I hope to be able to also do a review of the ring. Stay tuned and I’ll let everyone know if that might happen.
My Challenge: So this really has been one step forward, one step (sometimes two) backwards.
but I’ve made valuable progress, gained valuable experience and can see the light at the end of the tunnel.
Random observations:
- My sleep hygiene – basically all the things they tell you to do if you’d like quality sleep: go to bed at the same time, wake up at the same time, don’t use electronics within 2 hours of bedtime, watch what you eat, do something to decompress before bedtime, don’t read in bed – are !@#$.
- My sleep hygiene has been !@#$ now for YEARS… ESPECIALLY since pandemic began
- Because of my odd hours, my HIGHLY irregular bedtime and the layout of my house not giving me tons of control over my surroundings (I’ve got a wife that works in the room next to the bed, it’s a creaky old house, I’ve got a VERY needy cat) I often only get 4-6 hours of sleep. I NEED 7 1/2 OR MORE.
- This leaves me with migraines. It’s gotten so bad that I was getting migraines 3-5x a week. And, when I have a migraine, I’m basically non-functional
- I noticed that the quality of sleep, sleeping from, say, midnight until 8am was different from the quality of sleep from 3am – 11a and VASTLY different than the “quality” of sleep (notice the quotes) from, say, 5am – 3p. The later I go to bed the worse the quality of sleep I get EVEN if the number of hours is the same or longer.
- On the days depression rears its head it REALLY screws with doing what I need to do for quality sleep
- The atmosphere at home – stress, challenges, frustrations – REALLY get in the way of proper sleep.
I suppose it’s that last one that really rang a bell hard and is one of the top things that needs to be addressed.
Among the other discoveries I’ve made is that…
- my quality of sleep is best, the closer to midnight I go to bed (I didn’t realize I had a chronotype… really thought I was more of a night owl than that simply because of the amount of energy I have at night)
- When I got to bed earlier I wake naturally anywhere from 7-8 hours after, even if it’s 8a or 9a (again, because of my life experience _I_ thought I preferred waking later – 11am or even later)
- after about 3 days of adequate sleep the migraines go away
- even more wildly, because I’ve been dealing with high blood pressure, after three days of quality sleep my blood pressure returns to normal. Did NOT see that coming
- that after even ONE night of !!@#$ sleep… I’m right back to a migraine
- And worse: it takes between 2 and 4 nights after that one crappy night to get rid of the migraines and begin feeling better after sleep.
Where’d you go, Odmaa? Did you complete your Challenge to your specifics? What were the results?
Look for the directions for the end of Challenge report – it’s not just a hoop to jump through, but actually meant to help YOU distill what worked for you, what didn’t and how you continue your momentum and success for ALL of your life!
Looking forward to hearing how the end of your Challenge went and reviewing your Challenge report!
So… revisiting this:
Yea, these articles reminded me: although whey/caseinate is eventually broken down to protein components… BCAA are more absorbable and stave off glycogen depletion.
BCAA’s before working out… are quickly absorbed and stop muscle wasting, while the whey (or other protein source) is more slowly absorbed to feed muscles during a long workout and immediately after
Getting caught up. Feels like take one step forward, take one step backwards. That being said I HAVE made progress. I’ll post my answers to the 21-Day Challenge Final Report tomorrow.
I look forward to reading other’s answers! <3
January 2022 21-Day Challengers, look to your Email for congratulations as well as the final instructions!
How’d it go finding a house cleaner? I could recommend someone if you need.
Curious: I never heard any feedback or thoughts about my last post to your thread. Did it prompt anything!?
And… it’s DAY 21!!! Where does your Challenge stand? What remains yet to do? And what will you build on from here?
~ Mark
Day 21, Odmaa! Where do you stand? What remains still to be done!?
