WELCOME TO THE
DON'T LOSE YOUR MARBLES
CHALLENGE
I know fairly well how to get and stay in shape. How to live a life that is mentally and emotionally balanced. How to foster a productive relationship with my creativity.
My real challenge is called: consistency.
To keep showing up. Every. Single. Day. Without losing my marbles.
Welcome to the 'DON'T LOSE YOUR MARBLES' challenge.
2 VASES, 500 MARBLES
Two vases. One is empty, the other one holds 500 marbles. The rules are simple: for every day I stay true to three cornerstone habits, I get to move one marble from the vase with 500 marbles to the other one.
If I miss a single habit one single time, all shifted marbles go back into the original vase and I get start from scratch.
Until all 500 marbles have changed vases.
WHAT ARE MY CORNERSTONE HABITS?
1
≥ 30 MINUTES WORK-OUT
In my case, this means alternating between running, animal flow, trucking and kettle bell training. With a weekly dance class or two.
2
INTERMITTENT FASTING
I follow a 16/8 intermittent fasting regime, which means a daily eating window of 8 hours that starts with first bite, and ends at the last.
3
BULLET JOURNALING
To give both structure and creative permission to my chaotic brain keeping a bullet journal has proven to be my most effective basic strategy.
WHY THIS APPROACH?
Exercising more than planned, writing more than anticipated, or even pursuing more good habits than the basic three is allowed. Less isn't. Using the 500 marbles method (I hereby coin it that way) I seek to discover whether:
-
the reward of a daily marble motivates me,
-
the physical act of shifting helps to anchor my cornerstone habits,
-
the presence of the marbles in a prominent place in the house keeps me on my toes,
-
the growing number of moved marbles fuels my loss aversion,
-
public accountability feels liberating or suffocating,
-
I gradually enjoy the process more than crossing the finish line,
-
unexpected insights cross my path.