I would ask the question have you heard of 75 Hard... but I feel at this point most people have at least heard of 75 hard, if you're one of the lucky few who haven't I'll explain. 75 hard focuses on 75 days of intense physical and mental standards. 2 workouts a day - minimum of 45 minutes and one must be outside, Reading 10 pages of a book, a picture a day, 1 gallon of water a day, follow a food/diet plan, no cheats, and no alcohol. If you miss a day you have to start over, thus 75 hard. At one point I thought of attempting or doing my own 75 hard - slightly easier however I could never commit.
As I've started thinking about this year and what is to come, I knew I wanted my focus to be on Christ. I wanted to be moving forward and I wanted what I did to honor Him. So I came up with the First 50. Why 50 days... I'll confess, part of it is because I leave for a work trip overseas, on the 56th day of this year and for sheer convience I did not want to be setting myself up for failure. Also, I wanted something to go past the month of January with the hope that my steps will be fully committed and easily continued. 50 days seemed a significant piece of time and after working on some ideas I developed The First 50. This doesn't have to be just at the beginning of January, it can be the First 50 of starting new goals and setting yourself up for success. On a spirtual level, 50 days is 7 weeks and 1 day. 7 is a significant number and that is not lost on me.
A breakdown of The First 50
Please understand these are my goals, and you're welcome to take the idea and tweak it, run with it... or throw it out the window but these are things I really wanted to focus on. I broke it up into 4 components - Spiritual, Physical, Health, Financial.
Spiritual
First lets look at the spiritual. This was the most important component for me, I've really struggled within the last few years of maintaining a commitment to reading God's Word. I've done Bible Studies and the like and while they help, really just reading and focusing has been a struggle. Under the Spiritual umbrella my guidelines are as follows:
1. Follow a Bible Reading Plan - I have tweaked a 50 day reading plan that allows me to finish the entire New Testament in the first 50 days of the year. I believe this is a great way to jump into my Bible reading for this year!
2. Prayer Walks - For 2 reasons, I hate cardio and getting in a walk is an easy way to add more steps, get my dog outside, and helps me focus on something other than my disdain for walking... That may be more than two reasons, but you get the idea.
3. Tithing - The Bible calls us to tithe, which literally means 10% but really giving anything is a step in the right direction. I only get paid 1x a month as a teacher but this will help remind me to do it.
4. Fasting Tik Tok - I am a victim of doom scrolling. My church is doing a digital fast and this made the most sense as a way to fast something and help break the bad habit.
Physical
Next we have the physical. For me this falls to three things.
1. Weight Lifting 5x/week - I utilize the Chalk App. It's a great tool. Ryan uploads new workouts regularly and is great for home or a full gym. I pay for this app but for me it works and is cheaper than a personal trainer. He also offers other things, but teacher life and pay.
2. Stair Stepper 3x/week - Please note there is not a time on that. I fell for the Tik Tok ads on the mini-stair stepper (please see above about my unhealthy addiction to doom scrolling). I want to use it (I bought it) and I want to get more cardio in, my goal is to use it in the evenings for 1 15-30 minute show.
3. Progress Pics - I think taking 1 a day might be a bit much, but having a weekly pic from start to finish can be very helpful in seeing the visual changes but also as motivation. Try and wear the same thing every time as it makes it a little more obvious in the changes.
Health
Health covers eating plans. This may mean something differently for you but for me, this is where it's at.
1. Adrenal/Cortisol focused diet. I suffer from severe adrenal fatigue and cortisol issues, and so my goal this year is to repair the years of damage.
2. High Protein - this supports the adrenal diet and helps me focus on hitting protein goals.
3. 100oz of Water - They say half your body weight. For me this is a little less than that but seems a little more achievable. I cannot run to the bathroom ever 10 minutes when teaching.
4. No Alcohol - I don't have issues with alcohol but I'm trying to eat healthier and heal my gut and adrenals, no alcohol supports this goal.
Financial
I am trying to save money this year and really grow in my financial prowess and understanding. I've also become quite comfortable with Amazon, and my morning stops at the local QT for caffeine every morning. I did some math and was stunned at what I was spending. So for me there is only one thing No Spend January. This is to help me jump start my goals and hopefully instill some better financial habits.
There you have it!
So there it is... a my First Fifty. A way to jumpstart my goals and build healthy habits. I have created a blank document set if you'd like to try and do it yourself. You can visit my Etsy store here. I pray this new year is a blessing for you. Praying for you!
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