Feeling good is highly underrated! We don’t bop around the place constantly thinking about how good we feel, but maybe we should. It only takes the winter months to deliver you a head pounding flu or super tender throat to get you to appreciate how well you felt the day before. Sometimes we get excited and actually inflict a day of misery on ourselves, after saying yes to that final drink of the night. You know this is the one that will make you suffer but hey, you’re having too much craic!
That was me last weekend. Meeting old friends meant bumping into old habits of drinking a bit too much. Everything was tough to do. Simply thinking about putting on a clothes wash made me just want to crawl back into bed!
On days like this you need to think small. You’re not going to achieve anything major when you are feeling under the weather so, instead of completely writing off the day, grab some small wins where you can. I like to focus on a victory a day. What’s the smallest thing I can do right now to give me an instant win and make me feel like I’m making some progress in my life?
That’s a great question to ask yourself. It will brighten your mood and give you a feeling of control and power. When day’s like these arrive, the last thing you need is to start wracking your brain for ideas to win small. That’s where A Victory a Day: How one simple action each day transforms your health, energy and well-being comes in. Simply choose one and make it happen!
I wrote this book to help people who are stuck. Whether they are stuck that particular day or stuck in their poor habits and attitudes, this book offers a way out. It’s a tool you can dip in and out of or go all in and complete thirty days in a row.
You simply complete one small action each day. I learned a hell of a lot about myself and others completing this. It looks like a total breeze so I had no idea how much it would challenge me along the way.
Here are 5 highlights from my journey
Day 1: Dance to your favourite song
I excitedly committed to starting but had the dilemma of which song to choose. Would I go cool and all rapper like or funky and chill? For some reason Paul Simon’s song “Call me Al” popped into my head. I had happy memories of watching Chevy Chase goof around in that video so I gladly decided that this was the one.
With iPad in my hand and YouTube ready to go, I went into my bedroom and closed the door (nobody needed to witness what was about to happen). I pressed play and let loose! Hands and legs flew as I jumped around the room.
Two minutes in, and already sweating, I realized that this was really tough work! Unfortunately for me I didn’t bother to check how long the song actually was, so I had to continue to the very end as instructed.
Four minutes and thirty-six seconds later I was a sweaty mess after totally underestimating that task. My advice? Check how long you will be dancing for before starting, and prepare to have a shower afterwards!
A brief reenactment of the song I chose
Day 2: Call someone you have not talked to in months
This one will warm your heart and remind you how nice it feels to connect with people. I called my friend Johnny. We hadn’t been in contact for over three months after life just took over and sucked away our time like a vacuum making short work of dust. Days go by continuously until something like “A Victory a Day” makes you pause and take those five minutes out of your schedule to call that person.
Our phone call was warm, fun and within seconds we were best buddies again. The glow and energy I felt after hanging up lasted for hours. Humans love to communicate with each other. Face to face is best but a phone call is a very good second. If you want an instant feel-good, this will do the trick.
Day 7: Give three different compliments to three different people
Out of the thirty tasks you are asked to complete in “A Victory a Day” this was one of the most difficult. It sounds so easy but I struggled badly!
The hard part is not giving the compliments, but coming up with three genuine compliments to give three different people without sounding like a creep!
I struggled to tell colleagues they were looking great if I didn’t believe it. I also struggled with the timing…I couldn’t exactly throw out a compliment that had nothing to do with what we were talking about. In addition, you only have one day to do it so I felt some time pressure.
As I write this, there really should have been no reason why this task got to me but, in a strange way, it did. In the end I squeezed by, complimenting a woman on her great English (I was in Madrid), finally telling a colleague that I liked her hair and finishing my day admiring how fit and trim a friend had become. I was one week in and that was the biggest battle yet!
Day 17: Give away €5
Having a deadline on when you must do something can really make you focus. Like Day 7 above, this task sounds very easy but I found it daunting. If you walk up to someone and just hand them €5, it can seem quite odd and I’m unsure if the person would even take it from you.
I had a raging alcoholic drunk living on the streets outside my Madrid apartment so he was the first person to pop into my head. However, after listening to him scream Spanish profanities at every person that passed him, I thought it wise not to fuel that fire. Thankfully, my moment came when I was at a café.
My waiter was young and we got chatting. He mentioned that he was working to save some money for university outside of Madrid so I knew this was my chance. Being a lover of hard work, I happily handed him a tip of €5 for my coffee that cost me €1.40. He looked confused and surprised as I turned my back and walked contently away. My daily goal was complete.
Day 22: Hug three people for five seconds each
Warning! Warning! You are seriously stepping out of your comfort zone! How on earth was I supposed to grab a hold of three people and latch onto them for five very long seconds?? Stop right now and count to five…that’s a very long time holding someone that isn’t your wife, girlfriend or baby!
I quickly came up with a ploy to keep them there when things started to get weird. I would simply talk to them while hugging them, dance with them a little or pretend to wrestle them! (You cannot tell them beforehand what you are doing). How could I fail? If they struggled I would simply not let go (like some of you, I take challenges very seriously).
Thankfully I didn’t have to do the creepiest option which was talk to them. I danced with both a girl and guy friend and ended up vice like gripping another male friend.
No friendships were ruined but everyone left feeling a little bit violated. I completed the task but really I failed miserably!
Doing anything new will make you grow, no matter how small it is. These challenges are not difficult, but many of them push you outside your comfort zone to a place you haven’t been to in a while. Looking rejection and discomfort in the eye regularly will transform us into tougher individuals ready to back ourselves and take a chance.
This thirty-day journey surprised me. I got to know myself better and saw the areas I needed to work on as a person. I also saw my strengths. It opens you right up, exposes you, and then stitches you back together as a more powerful version of yourself.
Think you got what it takes to complete all thirty days? You can download the entire free eBook here. I hope you get as much out of it as I did, and please let me know how you do!