The Challenge: What I’ve learnt and looking back

In the challenge I've learnt; how to cook 29 new recipes, say 29 phrases in different languages, stone pitching, jump starting a car and how to finish a screenplay.

Picking my favourite part of the challenge was hard, but I've whittled it down to 9 things (and out of 300 odd that’s not bad.) These are; Chessboxing, reconnecting with Jo, reconnecting with Hannah, Sevens in the City, reconnecting with the marathon, reconnecting with Neighbours, going to Rome, doing a pole photo shoot and writing a film in week.

It’s been a few weeks since I've finished  and it’s only when I look back at my trusty spreadsheet I can see exactly how much I've done in a year, and it’s a lot! Here’s the thing when I have an idea, I think it’s going to be quite small, but with further planning it actually turns out to be quite big.
There’s been a fair amount of change over the past year; not having a contract extended at work, temping again, then finding another job, financial troubles, falling in love and getting heartbroken and then trying to move on. Although these are all little things in the grand scheme of life, they can add up and for quite a few months of the challenge I was very lost, felt very alone and very low. But as crazy as it sounds the challenge kept me going through those lost dark times. I kept thinking if I finish this big challenge then at least I've achieved something this year. I won’t look back and think what a failure it was; I can look back and think if I say I'm going to do something, I can actually do it!

The thing with a challenges is, once you set your mind on it you become focused and depending on how big the challenge is, you can be very one track minded and sometimes become quite boring as its all you talk about. And there were times throughout the year when I was a challenge bore. Especially in the last month or so. I can only imagine Charlotte wished the challenge would finish as it was all I talked about and in the last couple of weeks I was so focused on the screenwriting and comedy part of the challenge I just shut myself in my room until those parts were complete. So apologies to my friends and family if I was a challenge bore.

Quite early on one of my sisters said to my dad that they wished I’d shut up about my challenge and not make a big deal about it and turning 30. I guess that’s one of the hardest elements, to keep on going when people don’t believe in you or have lost interest. Matt who I was seeing for 6 months didn't believe in the challenge. He listened to the idea of the challenge when I first met him, but after that took no real interest and when people who are important to you don’t support something you believe in, it can hurt a little. Just like when the believers stop believing. I know towards the end of the challenge there were only a handful of people that were still asking me about my progress. I think others forgot, had lost interest or didn't think I could complete it. And they wouldn't be wrong in thinking the latter, with one month to go I think I had 44 things still to do. It was a massive mountain to climb but I did it. Although you shouldn't do a challenge to please people, it's nice to have support through the tough times to keep you going.

Looking back on the list I don’t think normally I would experience such a high level of variety. It would probably be the amount of stuff I would do over a few years, let alone one. In what challenge would you see; chessboxing, a one direction concert at the cinema, learn how to stone pitch, cook crème brulee, listen to Chas and Dave, catch up with a neighbour you haven’t seen in 20 years, try locus, see Fifty shades of Grey and Gone with the Wind, learn insults in multiple languages, see your old teacher do stand-up comedy, read Miley Cyrus’s autobiography, jump start a car and write a 2 hour film in a week?!

Oh and do a pole photo shoot, go to Rome, meet someone who gives you a life trick for the theatre, read American classics, meet baking royalty and a cricketing legend, take part in a parade and music festival, get autographs from the other side of the world, go to a rugby festival and see Cool Runnings on an ice rink? Tough Mudder you may have your electric eels, stinging nettles and your mud mile but the 29 Challenge can pack a punch as well. Just at the end of it, it won’t take 15 minutes to get all the mud out of my hair!

Doing this challenge has definitely made me stronger and it’s only now that I've finished the challenge that I can hold my head up high. It’s actually surprising to hear what people think of the whole thing. Since putting it on facebook that I finished, one of my work colleagues is currently working his way through the blog entries. My Auntie Benita said that the post I wrote about my sister Gemma was very touching, and my friend Carmella even made a whole birthday card about my challenge which was the best. People have asked if I will carry on blogging, and I have a few ideas of what to do next. So watch this space.

I don’t want to end on a low or end on an Oprah Winfrey motivational high. I’ll just end it by being me. Challenges aren't meant to be easy, they’re meant to test you and quite often there are parts of challenges you do on your own. You’re lucky if whatever challenges you set yourself; you've got someone to do it with. But whatever challenges you set out to do, whether it’s physical, mental or emotional, stick with it, stay focused and plan ahead. If you plan ahead then if you start to worry about reaching the end, you've got it all figured out anyway.

To the non-believers and the ones that got bored I thank you as you made me more determined to complete the challenge. And to the believers, the cheerleaders and the people that read the blog regularly to see how I was doing I thank you as well. I hope in some small way I've inspired you to do as much as you can; whether it be in a month, a year or a lifetime. Make it count.