TIME TO BE CHALLENGED!: ‘PASSIONATELY FAILING TOWARDS GREATNESS’.

Today is Monday, 1st of January 2023, so let me raise my virtual glass and wish everyone a Happy New Year! Here is My First Blog for this year which marks the start of 3 new challenges for me. Last year, I did 3 and they were all instrumental in the huge progress and growth that I saw in all areas of my life. Personal challenges have always offered opportunities to really commit to myself. It allows me to do what I say I will do to the best of my abilities and to not give up. It allows me to take action, work on even the most challenging things as I struggle and keep going until I complete it. I am excited to take everything I have learnt over the years and last year's challenges & take it to another level.

How will I do that?

• By taking bigger action on things that scare me

• Commit more to successfully completing areas of my challenges by 80% minimum.

• Making bigger goals that scare me

• Be willing to fail more

• Connect with more people

• Be open to being rejected

• Learning faster

• Taking action faster

• Trying more things

• Enjoying life more!

For 2023, I am committed to growing more in skills, knowledge and learning how to be a better version of myself. I am going public with these challenges to hold myself accountable and as a way to reflect & track my progress. Although it can be extremely vulnerable, embarrassing and I question myself as to why I do it, it helps me achieve so many of my life goals. Therefore, it is worth the effort. I also do this for my daughter to help her when she's older to know what it takes to be her best, to know her worth and see the work it takes to achieve her goals. Hopefully, it can help someone else to begin their own personal challenge.

One of my biggest goals in life is to know myself more than anyone else which allows me to navigate and create a life that is in my best interest. The challenges I take on may not easy and they entail hard work at times, but it allows me to grow exponentially and work through all the things that hold me back.

MY 3 CHALLENGES

1. My year-long challenge called 'Passionately Failing Towards Greatness'.

2. 90 Day Challenge called 'Taking Relentless Consistent Action'.

3. The Maia Dreams 30 Day Self Growth Challenge Journal.

Each challenge allows me to track & monitor my progress daily, monthly & yearly. It will involve holding myself accountable through posts, blogs, videos, lives & podcasts. Doing whatever it takes to complete my challenges and especially work towards becoming the woman God destined me to be.

REFLECTION

My 2023 yearlong challenge is called ‘Passionately Failing Towards Greatness’. In order to progress, we need to be able to look at the previous years and reflect on what worked and what didn’t. Last year's challenge was based around working towards doing more things that scared me and I can confidently say I did. It was good to be able to test myself and learn more about who I am. It was also about trying new things and connecting with more people. I tried more things regularly that I would not have done so easily or readily. By doing this challenge, I was able to learn things I can use to improve how I do my next challenge.

Here are some of the following areas I was able to identify:

• I had those important or uncomfortable conversations with people that were in my best interest.

• I learnt that I did not have a clear plan in place within Maia Dreams.

• I have grown in knowledge since I first started Maia Dreams 4.5 years ago.

• I was able to learn to use the hate or judgment of others as ammunition and no longer let it hurt me

• I know my worth and believe in myself even if people don’t.

• Realizing that my thoughts hold me back from really achieving.

• To stop overworking

• To follow my intuition more

• To work on not competing with others but get clear on my goals and go all in

• I was able to get rid of toxic people in my life

• I was able to follow through with many of my goals for Maia Dreams

• I achieved one of my goals to start blogging and I wrote 52 blogs!!

• I am someone who multi-tasks too much & to complete one task first before moving on to the next.

• I need to learn to choose the best things and go all in.

• I love writing and I can definitely see my improvements.

• I have learnt that the bigger steps I take the more opportunities are available.

• The more clarity and foundation I learnt the more I was able to achieve!

• I was working so much because I felt like I was not good enough’. I was trying to prove something but to who? I want to make myself proud.

This challenge definitely allowed me to get 1.5 years ahead in my life. So, for my 2023 challenge called ‘Passionately Failing Towards Greatness’, I am using what I have identified and learnt to do better. I'm extremely stoked to see how much I'll accomplish by the end of this year.

My next main focus and goal is my 90 Day Challenge where I aim become more disciplined. I want to use these next 90 days to track my progress and see the effects of doing strong consistent daily morning and nightly rituals. I want to increase my discipline and learn to do the hard things more.

Some of those rituals are

• Praying on my knees morning & night

• Reading from good books/scriptures

• 100 Squats

• 100 push ups

• 100 sit ups

• Walk minimum 10k steps a day

• Work an hour on my career

• Cold shower

• 90 Days sugar free (except quest peanut butter cups)

• Write for an hour a day

• Limit screen time

Lastly, I am using our Maia Dreams 30 Day Self Growth Challenge Journal for my 30-Day Self growth challenge . I am doing this journal to create stronger tools. Having done the journal many times now, there have been different areas that have resonated with me each time. One time, it was learning to be more grateful for how good my life is, another time I focused on having strong tools in place if I was feeling emotional or overwhelmed. Another time, I learned to let GO of things. I want to use this challenge to create solid tools and increase my mindset and support the changes that will inevitably happen fast.

The more I have committed to myself, my challenges and my goals the more I have learnt and grown. I would rather be someone who tries and fails then someone who waits for perfection to execute. At least through failing you can learn, grow and improve. I am living my life everyday trying to figure out how to be my best ME! Looking forward to 2023 and the adventure ahead.