30-Days of Inspiration Challenge

It was the start of the second semester of my fifth year at university. I was at the crossroads of my life and career - I had a good circle of friends, was meeting new people and my situation at home was slightly more tolerable. I had multiple jobs that bought in a stable income, started working at my internship and was considering my options for the upcoming summer. Despite the uncertainty of it all, it was an exciting place to be given how productive I had been. I don't think I have ever felt so productive in my life, and I knew that I couldn't have done it had it not been for the amazing support network of people I had the pleasure of having in my life at that time. So on one of the many commutes into town, I decided that I wanted to document and acknowledge this great point in my life by taking a photo a day with someone who inspired me to be a better person.

The first of September 2013 was coincidentally Fathers' Day, so my first photo was with Dad. I approached close friends who I saw that month, my workmates and some members of my family. I was even lucky enough to have attended a Q&A forum with Former Justice Michael McHugh (an inspiration to any law student), and approached him to be a part of my 30-Day Challenge. I also attended a talk by former Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard at the Sydney Opera House, but did not have the opportunity to run after her for a photo given the tight security. I ended up taking a photo with the information card with her face on it instead, so I guess I sort of cheated that day (though I am confident she knows she serves as a huge inspiration for any Australian female looking to work in politics).

I did not find the 30-Day of Inspiration Challenge too difficult because I was blessed with inspiration everywhere I looked. I think the most challenging thing about the 30-Day Challenge was approaching people to take a photo with me. Imagine that: you're working away in the office, then out of the blue a girl taps you on the shoulder and asks for a photo with you because of a task she had bestowed upon herself. (Yes, I have been told that I am a strange, strange person).

You'll be glad to know that everyone I approached was happy to be a part of my project. It was nice seeing how people reacted to my request - initially thinking it was slightly strange, but being flattered at the realisation that they were an inspiration to me, then feeling awkward with the "okay-smile-at-the-camera" part. Some felt so awkward that it was completely adorable. Despite the somewhat strange request, their unwavering support really gave me a sense of self and made me more aware of all the inspiration that was out there. I was so grateful for their presence in my life, and the simple act of letting them know that they inspired me gave me the warm and fuzzies.

It has been almost half a year since the end of the challenge. I still am in contact with most of the inspirational beings, despite all of us moving on with our own lives (new jobs, new opportunities and ergo new people). I had a little catch up dinner and drinks with a couple of the people from my internship, and realised how inspirational these people continue to be for me. Even though we can't return to that time where we saw each other twice a week, it's so wonderful to know that the inspiration I first felt can be felt again in a different time and space with these people.

Sometimes inspiration takes a conversation or two , sometimes it arises out of struggles, and sometimes it requires us to really open your eyes to notice it. But inspiration is wonderfully random. When you share this inspiration, and you let someone know that they inspire you to be a better person than you are today, it creates an aura of positivity, love and acceptance. And this is so damn beautiful. 

30-Day Reflection Challenge

Reflection is the art of observing what was, recgonising what is and contemplating what will be. It allows us to step-back, examine how things really are, and temporarily indulge in places we want to be. Reflections often occur internally, in the mind, in the self. They are rarely voiced, and are shared only when prompted. Perhaps this is because reflections are so damn personal, and sharing them exposes our inner-thoughts and vulnerabilities. I was once told by a dear friend of mine that I should write out my thoughts, but my self-doubt consumed me, which stopped me from putting pen to paper, leaving my reflections unpublished. 

I only started writing out my reflections one evening when I was feeling the loneliest I had ever felt. It was my first night in Canada, I had just arrived into the small town and settled into my new home. I was the first tenant to arrive, so there were no one else in the house, the Internet had not been set up (oh the horror!), and I was already missing the company of the people I had spent the previous two weeks with. It was a lonely place to be, and I was feeling lost (in my own thoughts). As I was unpacking, I found a red Moleskine notebook I had brought along with me for my travels, and started writing/reflecting on how I was feeling in that moment in time. It was a harmonious flow of words and thought, and I did not feel so lonely after having spent that little time with myself. And so I was a reflector from that point onwards - I reflected on good times and, just as importantly, on the times that were not so great.  

A reflection about my eating habits in December 2013.

I chose to do the 30-Day Reflection Challenge in December 2013. Admittedly, I did not register what a great time of the year it was to reflect until a friend mentioned it. I was able look back on the year that was and look forward to what will be. It was a timely move also because I had started a 9-5 office job, and reflecting everyday allowed me to change up the routine of the daily grind. This was also my first corporate gig, so the daily reflections definitely helped with me figuring out what I really wanted to do with my life. As well, the fact that I made a 30-Day Challenge out of reflecting made me known as the girl who does 30-Day Challenges in the office, which gave me a real sense of self, rather than being a mere clog in the corporate machine. 

The 30-Day Reflection Challenge has definitely given me the confidence to be more open as a person. For me, there is something so wonderful about writing out your thoughts and reflections. It is very different to letting reflections wallow about in our beautiful, complex minds. As I mentioned, I used to leave my thoughts to frolic about mind-juices, only ever sharing when prompted or when I felt I had a solid grounding for these reflections; there was a lot of self-doubt. So writing out my inner-thoughts was so damn empowering. It gave me sense of individuality, through developing my own voice; it gave me some kind of certainty as I was navigating the vast array of opinions out there; and it gave me a sense of clarity, of who I am and what I believed. As a result of the 30-Day Reflection Challenge,  I have become a lot more open to being vulnerable, and am willing to accept sometimes my judgements are wrong. It has left me with a greater ability to accept change, especially changes within myself and others.

Illustration by Yumi Sakugawa.

I have continued to write out my reflections, though not on a daily basis. Regular reflections have contributed to my own discoveries, where I am constantly learning about myself, people and life in general. Reflection gives me space to myself, and a great excuse to wander about Sydney and settle in a cafe to write out my thoughts over a delightful cup of coffee. Although I am blessed with friendships that have 'safe spaces' that allow me to freely express my emotions, opinions and reflections, I still think it is important to sometimes to go back to the Bat Cave and spend some time sharing thoughts with yourself. Reflections allow you to play with your curiosity, entertain your doubts and arrive at a place of acceptance of certain things.

30-Day Jogging Challenge

Living in a Canadian university town had me on a ridiculous diet made up of poutine, beer and more poutine. This lifestyle seriously affected my size, fitness and health. I decided to pick up swimming to get some activity into my life, and because my housemate at the time was an excellent swimmer, passing on a few tips and tricks on my mission to get active. I also found a pool buddy - a lovely girl from St Denis who I travelled around Mexico with. Her determination to improve her own swimming was infectious, and had us meeting twice a week at the uni pool for some aquatic exercises.

I still remember my first swim after 7 months of no-swimming-at-all: I was exhausted after the first hundred meters. But I kept going, with Dory/Ellen De Generes' voice in the back of my mind. "Just keep swimming, just keep swimming. What do we do? We swim, swim, swim." It proved effective, and before I knew it, I was swimming for twenty minutes without a break. It was one of those mind over matter thing. My fitness significantly improved, and it felt amazing. Both my mind and body was singing at me to stay active: I started jogging, taking spin classes and went on long, nature hikes in and around North America.

Hiking in Alogonquin, Onatario, CANADA 2012.

When I landed back in Sydney, I did not have my pool buddy and most people I knew had better things to do than to go on long, nature walks with me. And thus the 30-Day Jogging Challenge was born (this was also one of my first 30-Day Challenges).

The 30-Day Jogging Challenge was simply that - jog everyday for a month. I focused more on time than I did distance and speed, as I wanted to work on my breathing technique - which were rhythmically different to swim-breathing. Surprisingly, my first run did not kill me. I started off doing 20-minute runs, then slowly built my way up to 30-minute ones. By the final week of the challenge, I was running at an average pace of six minutes per kilometre - something I had never anticipated when I started the challenge.

Granted, this much running caused some pain around my knee area. It wasn't a constant pain, so I chose to ignore it as a sign that my body was adjust to increase levels of activity. I managed it by ensuring I warmed up the muscles, cooled down after every run, and stretched properly. I later when to see a physio about the intermittent knee pain, who diagnosed with me a flat foot and weak(er) hips - which meant my knees were not well-supported, especially during my runs. The physio said that this need not stop me from doing what I normally do. She said that I needed to build up some strength in my hips (through hip exercises), wear orthopedics in my flats and limits my swimming to freestyle. 

I now run approximately three to four times of the week. The rest of the week are filled in with swimming, yoga or cycling. On days where I don't exercise, I can feel my body craving for activity and movement. Exercise is now a habit for me. I thoroughly enjoy being an active person, because I think it allows me to do much more with my life and engage in new activities I would otherwise dismiss (because of poor physique/fitness). I participated in the Colour Run in early 2013, and ran the City2Surf under 80 mins - a real personal achievement. I am looking into doing half-marathons, or a triathlon, but we'll see aye!

View after completing C2S, Sydney, AUSTRALIA 2013.

The 30-Day Jogging Challenge gave my body and mind a taste-test into how great it could feel after some physical activity. I get a sense of daily achievement from exercising. My fitness levels have improved significantly and I am generally more happy as a person. That thirty minutes of running/exercising really stimulates endorphins, gives me times to myself to clear my mind and just simply to de-stress. After any run/swim/cycle/yoga, I feel as if I was on top of the world.