100 Days Challenge: Improve Your Life

It's no secret that I've been having a rough few months and a generally challenging time of my life since I've graduated college. I've come a very long way and I know that by no means I am the same person I was a year ago, let alone "100 days" ago. I've always been a firm believer that your life can change drastically in just one day, whether for good or bad. I've always been the kind of girl who hopes one of those moments comes along that will just turn my whole world upside down, for the better, and magically all will fall into place. I still like to have that kind of belief, because there is something so innocent and naive about having that kind of mentality, that I don't really want to let go of it. I want to believe that good things are coming my way and that requires me having that hopeful and child-like magical belief in the universe.

Although I am holding onto this "magic" belief system very tightly, I also realize that a lot of life's circumstances are often in our control (not just the "universe"). This fall I let myself slowly fall into a very negative mindset, primarily because I was exhausted and frustrated with my job hunt. It affected all other parts of my life, though, and I wish I could have more control over that. I have been thinking a lot about New Year's resolutions and making changes in my life in general. My biggest goal in life is to be happy, no matter what the circumstances may be. And in order for you to be at peace with yourself and truly happy, you can't rely on any person, job, location, etc. as the source of your own happiness. I realize happiness comes from within and only you can control that. So, with all that being said, I'm ready to embark on one of those "100 days" challenges to improve my life for the better.

I got this idea while I was scrolling through the internet one night and stumbled upon this article called "60 Small Ways to Improve Your Life in the Next 100 Days." I loved it because it has so many ideas for improvements and not just within your self but also small improvements throughout your home, etc. I was going to officially start my 100 days challenge on New Year's Day, but I figured: why wait? My life could certainly benefit from improvements right away and if I start now, I'll already have a good 15 days under my belt as the new year begins. As of tomorrow, December 15th, my challenge begins. I'm going to share with you some of the things I will be doing/working on!

• Write down five things I'm grateful for at the end of every day.
• No complaining for the next 100 days. If I find myself complaining, even about the smallest thing, I will put a small token in a jar. By the end of the 100 day challenge, whatever amount of "tokens" in the jar are, I will add more days to this aspect of the challenge until I've officially gone 100 days without complaints!
• Write at least 500 words every day. It can be geared towards my novel, this blog or just regular stream of consciousness writing.
• Spend a few minutes at the end of each day tidying up my room and desk space to keep a clean and clear space in which I can be in.
• Exercise at least 20 minutes a day for the next 100 days.
• Make an active effort of not comparing my life to anyone else's.
• Leave behind my past and stop worrying about my future. This will probably be the hardest one for me to tackle, and I may not be successful every day, but for the next 100 days I am going to make it a daily reminder for myself.

Will you be partaking in any kind of "100 days" challenge come the new year? If so, please share!