Did you know that it can take 30 days or more to develop a habit? It can even take up to a year depending on what you’re trying to do. Which leads to the next question of: Do 30 day challenges work? 30 day challenges can include anything from fitness, eating habits, practicing a hobby, or practically anything. If you’ve heard about 75 Hard on TikTok, then you’re familiar with at least some sort of challenge. If you’re not, let’s take a minute to talk about what a 30 day challenge is.
Any time you want to do a task that you want to incorporate into your daily routine, people usually make it into a challenge into a healthy habit. Maybe you want to walk more, order out less, or even change two habits completely. Whether it is big or small, it’s important to know that it can take more than 30 days to make it seem like you’re making a difference. So do 30 day challenges work? Let’s take a look at what experts have to say.
The Benefits
Of course there are an abundance of benefits from starting any kind of healthy habit. Having a short-term challenge can provide you with a boost of confidence to get you to actually start the habit. It can also provide consistency and repetition, which can provide muscle memory depending on the habit that you are trying to form. Also, it can provide small achievements rather than one big achievement–which will give you the push to keep doing what you’re doing every day.
There is also the benefit of having the option to do the challenge you want to do with someone else. Maybe you want to initiate a wellness program at your job? Check out this previous article on our website about different wellness programs and challenges you can try, here. As Sean Covey, an American business executive, has said: “Depending on what they are, our habits will either make us or break us. We become what we repeatedly do.” So, do 30 day challenges work? The most important factor to take into consideration is the fact that you have to be the one to want to form the habit and to continue to make the change. No matter the books you read, the interviews you watch, or if you do endless amounts of challenges–it has to start with you.
The Setbacks
The main issue when it comes to 30 day challenges is when they end. What are they supposed to do when the challenge is finished for the habit they started to form? If they started from the beginning again, it could become redundant and could quit the habit altogether. Singular exercise challenges aren’t necessarily recommended due to the fact that it can cause injury. It’s important to practice your form before you try any sort of exercise challenge.
The Takeaway
Just like anything you want to do, you need to create short term and long term goals. If you find that you’re telling yourself that you can’t do it, adjust your frame of thinking. Forming healthy habits can change the way you think, eat, and move your body. As you ask yourself, do 30 day challenges work? Know that it depends on the person and how you execute it. If you give yourself the motivation, the resources, and even include a friend with your challenge—you have more of a chance to complete it. There’s no real linear answer to whether or not a 30 day challenges work. However, everyone is different and each outcome will always be different.
