Suggestions for Future 30-Day Trials (Blog)

[schwaka]

Originally Posted by Steve Pavlina

Talk to someone from a different country each day

I like this one. Why not make it a learning experience for all of us? Make it an interview, ask the person of the day what it is like to live in this specific country. What are there fears? What do they love?

[RedFoxBot]

30 days to change the world....bit ambitious?

I think its possible...you do it with every blog entry steve...so why not up the impact a few notches?

30 days to improve your community....could be online...your local environment (even if its your own back garden)...or more deprived areas or other countries...
This could include (But not be limited too)....paint your fence (improves your local community ina small way)....help at a soup kitchen...clean graffiti off walls...raise money for a ell in Africa..
You get the idea? The big part however would be doing it in the steve pavlina way....use the law of attraction and 'be the change you want to see' to have a greater impact in any of those tasks...bring yourself to tackle these things in only the way you can

Pick a community...and help it find its optimum

See how far you can get those ripples going!

[JohnnyJimJams]

Do a mass 30 day trial. Organise as many contenders as you can, pick something funky and make a sizable impact on something. (Or something)

[Dylan]

Try writing down EVERY thought you have for 30 days. Start typing. Don't stop. Dare ya.

[Dylan]

For 30 days, do in-depth interviews of the people in this forum and post their stories!

[sandrae]

I like the talk to strangers every day suggestion as well.

Another idea I had was to read as many self help/self improvement books as possible in 30 days and blog in a review type form. If you had the time and were a fast reader you could read a new one every day.

[pharmboy]

Steve has blogged on the benefits of a vegan diet. I would like to see how he feels on a high quality meat diet, mixed with plenty of fruits and vegetables. No junk food allowed. The diet would consist of organic lean meats and fresh fruits and vegetables. No grains would be allowed. Give it a shot, Steve.

[patturn]

Given your programming skills, why not come up with a software that will amplify your progress toward some sort of self improvement.
I am sure that you sometimes wish there was a particular function that is missing in a piece of software or could be done more elegantly or some aspect of your life you would like to automate.
If the software is useful to you, it might be useful to others.
Perhaps then you could sell it.
Or make it open sourced and have others contribute to the development of it.

[Jaben]

Get a job for 30 days and live off that income. You may save or donate your other income (perhaps disperse it to forum members )

If you want to make it really interesting, extend the 30 day trial until you can learn a new skill and make enough income using that new skill to cover your expenses and quit your job. And if the skill must be a board game, I'd agree with Trezker, Go would be much more interesting than chess.

[patturn]

How about reading all the nonessential fiction book that you ever wanted to read.
In my personal life, I don't have time to hardly read any fiction.
The books can be one of the Great books, or some trashy pulp.
Or you could modify this so that you watch all the Fiction movies that you ever wanted for a month.

[patturn]

on anything you please
comedy, documentary, thriller, etc


or how about write your autobiography, including the last few chapters on how you want your life to read when its all over - hypothetically.

[martin71]

Thanks, everyone, for a very interesting thread. Here are my two cents:

I think that the true value of a thirty-day trial is not in just trying something new or different or strange, but in doing something that is immensely challenging and transformational.

The biggest challenge we can meet is to go against our nature, our instincts, our character. As such, here is what I'd suggest:

Choose one character trait that you'd like to challenge, and make your best effort to do the opposite of your instinct. For instance, anytime you might voice a criticism (or a comment, which is often a subconscious criticism) about someone or something, say something complimentary instead.

Another idea, which might prove challenging for a driven, goal-oriented person like Steve:

Take a certain block of time each day , let's say from half an hour to an hour, and sit quietly and do absolutely nothing. No talking, reading, listening, eating, drinking, or moving in any way. [Not focused meditation either, because that's also a form of "doing" too.] Just nothing at all. Let your mind wander. Think about anything at all, or nothing. Just a full STOP to life. Give it a try.

One more idea, which may turn off the atheists out there:

Take at least 15 minutes a day and talk to the Creator in your own words. And even if you're unsure if there is one, or what its nature may be, just for this exercise assume there is a Higher Power who created and is in charge of the entire universe, and speak your mind to it. Develop a relationship. Ask questions. Seek understanding. Reveal your deepest pain and fears and any other emotions. Make requests. See how your consciousness might change by doing this.

[Just a note of interest: There is a Jewish tradition (whose source I don't know) that it takes 40 days to effect a fundamental change. A Biblical allusion to this: Moses spent 40 days up on Mount Sinai to receive the Law.]

[Steve Pavlina]

What about a "do the opposite" month, where I temporarily adopt a lifestyle that's almost 180 degrees from what I do now, at least in some facets?

Stay out late every night, sleep til noon, don't exercise, eat junk food, play poker, hang out with totally different people, dress differently, etc.

This idea is inspired by George Costanza (Seinfeld).

[seeker5]

Originally Posted by Steve Pavlina

What about a "do the opposite" month, where I temporarily adopt a lifestyle that's almost 180 degrees from what I do now, at least in some facets?

Stay out late every night, sleep til noon, don't exercise, eat junk food, play poker, hang out with totally different people, dress differently, etc.

I like it! And don't shave for those 30 days either.

[Rosie]

I think you should make your own religion, and follow it for 30 days

[sweetums]

It seems to me, not that any of you know me and afterall this is free advice, that Steve is on the verge of transcending the consciousness that our personality gives us, but hasn't quite gone that far. If all is consciousness, then why play around with mere changes in the physical world? Why not make changes in consciousness that brings us closer to the great Consciousness of our Being?

As an exercise in humbleness, I suggest something that I went through a couple of years ago. As a result of a nerve injury to my peroneal nerve in my leg which caused so much pain I was unable to walk or get out of bed anymore, I was bedridden for 4 months. I only managed to get up with the help of crutches to go to the bathroom. I had to do everything on one foot including getting in and out of the bathtub, and the injured leg even reacted to jarring of any kind, so I could not remain on crutches very long before I retreated back to bed. I ate meals in bed, did my makeup (when we had to go to appointments) in bed. My husband kindly bought me a laptop so that I could at least research the physical issue and look for doctors who dealt with chronic painful nerve inflammation. Occasionally, I was able to sit in the living room in a reclining position on the couch, but not for long as that seemed to make the nerve throb after a while. I don't suggest injuring any nerves on purpose. That would give one the optimal experience, but would not be practical. Instead, I would simply suggest trying to be bedridden and disabled for a month. Now, I know this puts a burden on those around you, as it did in my case, but that is part of the lesson. If your wife and kids agree to go along, I can tell you it is a great lesson in humbleness, as well as empathy with those people who are less mobile than the rest of us.

Btw, I did finally overcome the entire thing with daily visualization, meditation and positive affirmations. I visualized being mobile again and resuming daily activities, which led me to a doctor who had specialties in nerve injuries, mobility therapy and psychotherapy so that he correctly diagnosed my problem and got me on a program to get me back on my feet and resume my normal life again. And I experienced a LOT of spiritual growth during this time.

[Jaben]

I'd like to see you apply the personal development techniques you've been writing about in a real life situation so we can see them in action.

You could do this by putting yourself in a restrictive situation and work your magic to get out of it. For example, donate your residual income and get hooked on drugs. Blogging about your journey would be a great resource for those who are working their way out of a difficult situation.

Another option would be to take a case study and help them grow as I think someone else suggested.

[Steve Pavlina]

Originally Posted by Rosie

I think you should make your own religion, and follow it for 30 days

Yeah, but what if the habit sticks? Do we need another L. Ron?

How about the Church of Subjective Reality? Our first tenet: we don't actually exist, but we still need your money.

[Fullcrum]

I like the "Do Opposite" stuff - that's gonna be f****** awesome! Hahaha.

[GranCanaria]

• Visit a different country each day. Easy in Europe.

• "Review" a different religion each day.

• Review 30 films.

• Read 1 book a day.

• Solve a mystery each day (UFOs, sea monsters, etc.)

Good luck!

André
Gran Canaria

[stevehjoseph]

When you opened this up, I immediately thought "I should suggest sex!"
Not sure exactly what the trial would be, but it was a very strong urge.
Maybe sex twice a day for 30 days? Or something? You'd both have to sign off on that one if you wanted to go for it I suppose. Might be cool if you each wrote a separate blog for your experiences.

I've always wanted to learn more about the mechanics of your relationship because you seem like a good match, and many people don't have a good model for a mature, loving relationship to build off of or work toward. I know I didn't. I think something involving the two of you would be cool.

[Freelancer]

My top 3;
1) Talk to 10 people a day (yes 10 not 3 you wuss ). Strike up a conversation and figure out there dreams, hopes and ambitions.
Listening to people telling there story without mentally judging them is a very positive thing to do, it can transform some people's life and who knows perhaps you pick up new friends through this.
2) Vow of silence. Would be interesting to see the results of this.
3) Complete reversal of your lifestyle. Would be interesting to see if you'll have trouble going back to your current lifestyle again and how much your 'new' habits stick.

The number 1 is way ahead of the others though. You can post a short synopsis (without mentioning names) from each conversation on the blog.

If you have any reservation about talking to strangers then by the end this should be completely gone.

[Permafrost]

Or a phobia....

For instance - I'm afraid of about four things - moderately afraid of heights and the dark, severely afraid of spiders and worms. Not sure why, no pivotal childhood trauma, no real reason.

If Steve has a similar irrational fear of something I'd love to see a 30 day trial of getting rid of it. Either through desensitization or whatever other methods are available. That's pretty conducive to personal development and may inspire many others to do the same.

Course you have to have a fear first, but seems most people harbor one or two irrational fears somewhere...

[Fullcrum]

Maybe Steve could approach girls and get their numbers, then experiment with creating a giant social circle off of cold approaches and giving Erin business. Hahaha. That'd be pretty sweet.

[inverse Paranoid]

Originally Posted by Steve Pavlina

What about a "do the opposite" month, where I temporarily adopt a lifestyle that's almost 180 degrees from what I do now, at least in some facets?

Stay out late every night, sleep til noon, don't exercise, eat junk food, play poker, hang out with totally different people, dress differently, etc.

This idea is inspired by George Costanza (Seinfeld).

If my memory of this episode serves, your dip into an unhealthy lifestyle might coincide well with Erin's goal to be more healthy this year. Just so long as Jerry somehow ends up even.

[Steve Pavlina]

The vow of silence would be hard to implement with my lifestyle and business. That means I wouldn't be able to take business calls. This would inconvenience many others, forcing them to participate in the experiment willingly or unwillingly. This isn't the kind of lifestyle change most people would want to permanently adopt, so aside from the curiosity/entertainment value, I'm not sure it would make much difference in people's lives.

Talking to strangers each day is more feasible, but that doesn't appeal to me as much because I already have a ton of communication with new people flowing through my life on a daily basis. I'm always meeting new people via Toastmasters, and I'm likely to be doing a lot more in-person speaking once my book is out. I think increasing this communication, even with strangers on the street, might be too much more of the same.

I'd like to find something that would be more of a stretch for me, something that takes me further outside my comfort zone and pushes me into a new realm of experience, something that's more of a sharp turn as opposed to an extension of what I'm already doing.

[Bliss Sage]

Originally Posted by stevehjoseph

When you opened this up, I immediately thought "I should suggest sex!"
Not sure exactly what the trial would be, but it was a very strong urge.
Maybe sex twice a day for 30 days? Or something? You'd both have to sign off on that one if you wanted to go for it I suppose. Might be cool if you each wrote a separate blog for your experiences.

I've always wanted to learn more about the mechanics of your relationship because you seem like a good match, and many people don't have a good model for a mature, loving relationship to build off of or work toward. I know I didn't. I think something involving the two of you would be cool.

You mean vow of celibacy, right??

Who would benefit spiritually from making a vow to have sex twice a day?! How do you know they don't already do it that often?? Is not the 30-trial supposed to be a challenge and personally developmental? Presumably spiritually developmental...I think celibacy would be good for a try. It would be interesting to read about, especially for someone like me.

[pharmboy]

I would like to see Steve try a high protein diet with quality organic lean meats or eggs at every meal. The diet should include fresh fruits and vegetables, but no grains of any kind. No junk or processed foods should be allowed. I'd be interested to see how a staunch vegan would feel on this diet. This would test the belief component of diet that Steve just blogged. What do you think Steve?
Would definitely be a challenge.

[LeahWhitehorse]

I know writing is your medium so how about challenging the way you express your creativity? I was thinking something along the lines of drawing or painting a picture everyday (and perhaps letting us comment on what we feel it's about). It could be abstract or realistic or whatever inspires you that you want to share with us. No limits on how to make the picture - collage for example or even sculpture if you like :-)
It could be interesting for you to explore a new way of communicating and fascinating to see the kinds of discussion it could evoke. They do say a painting is worth a thousand words...let's see if it's true?

[Angela]

Steve, if you could have one quality or condition in your life that you don't currently have, what would you pick?

Erin, too. What would you pick? What would you like to be or have (non-materially speaking) that you aren't/don't already?