Overview
Is there something you've always meant to do, wanted to do, but just ... haven't? Matt Cutts suggests: Try it for 30 days. This short, lighthearted talk offers a neat way to think about setting and achieving goals.
Is there something you've always meant to do, wanted to do, but just ... haven't? Matt Cutts suggests: Try it for 30 days. This short, lighthearted talk offers a neat way to think about setting and achieving goals.
stuck in a rut (idiom) - lacking motivation
to follow in the footsteps (idiom) - to follow someone's else's idea
dwelling - living
computer nerd (slang) - a person who spends too much time with their computer
sleep-deprived - not having enough sleep
sustainable - able to continue or maintain at the current level
to stick (idiom) - to be permanent
give it a shot (idiom) - just try it
Are the following statements TRUE or FALSE?
1 Matt got the idea for his challenges from filmmaker Morgan Spurlock TRUE
2 Matt's 30-day challenges made him more outgoing TRUE
3 Matt claims his novel is really good FALSE
4 If you make small changes, you are more likely to give up FALSE
5
Matt challenges the audience to try something new for 30 days TRUE
answers
Would you be willing to try something new for 30 days? What are some things that come to mind?
Talk about a long term goal or project that you have completed.
What are some other ways to 'spice up your life'?
1 In informal American English, you can use the word pretty in place of 'very' or 'quite':
"The idea is actually pretty simple."
2 You can use the phrase 'why not' to challenge a person to do something:
"why not think about something you have always wanted to try and give it a shot for the next 30 days?"
script
A few years ago, I felt like I was stuck in a rut, so I decided to follow in the footsteps of the great American philosopher, Morgan Spurlock, and try something new for 30 days. The idea is actually pretty simple. Think about something you've always wanted to add to your life and try it for the next 30 days. It turns out 30 days is just about the right amount of time to add a new habit or subtract a habit -- like watching the news -- from your life.
There's a few things I learned while doing these 30-day challenges. The first was, instead of the months flying by, forgotten, the time was much more memorable. This was part of a challenge I did to take a picture every day for a month. And I remember exactly where I was and what I was doing that day. I also noticed that as I started to do more and harder 30-day challenges, my self-confidence grew. I went from desk-dwelling computer nerd to the kind of guy who bikes to work. For fun!
Even last year, I ended up hiking up Mt. Kilimanjaro, the highest mountain in Africa. I would never have been that adventurous before I started my 30-day challenges.
I also figured out that if you really want something badly enough, you can do anything for 30 days. Have you ever wanted to write a novel? Every November, tens of thousands of people try to write their own 50,000-word novel, from scratch, in 30 days. It turns out, all you have to do is write 1,667 words a day for a month. So I did. By the way, the secret is not to go to sleep until you've written your words for the day. You might be sleep-deprived, but you'll finish your novel. Now is my book the next great American novel? No. I wrote it in a month. It's awful.
But for the rest of my life, if I meet John Hodgman at a TED party, I don't have to say, "I'm a computer scientist." No, no, if I want to, I can say, "I'm a novelist."
So here's one last thing I'd like to mention. I learned that when I made small, sustainable changes, things I could keep doing, they were more likely to stick. There's nothing wrong with big, crazy challenges. In fact, they're a ton of fun. But they're less likely to stick. When I gave up sugar for 30 days, day 31 looked like this.
So here's my question to you: What are you waiting for? I guarantee you the next 30 days are going to pass whether you like it or not, so why not think about something you have always wanted to try and give it a shot! For the next 30 days.