Reflecting on "What Now?" as I work at Starbucks
Kirstie Allie lost a lot of weight as a spokesperson for Jenny Craig. (Maybe you saw her commercials….) As she reports it, on the day she reached her goal weight and the camera crews left, she decided to eat pizza. Seventy pounds later, she rued that decision. This is classic after-the-test syndrome.
You strive to meet a goal, you rise to the challenge, you feel thrilled with your changes, and then immediately afterward you crash. You do a rapid 180, abandoning whatever practices led to your success and falling into a pit along with some version of the old you. After-the-test syndrome can be from fatigue, relief, self-reward, ignorance, denial, or simple inattention. It can be intentional or unintentional. In a modest dose, it might be restorative, but in unbounded form it hurls you backwards and undoes much of the good derived from whatever challenge you met.
Like many people, I have found that the unbounded form–the unabashedly wild abandonment of structure or commitment in favor of sloth and self-indulgence–comes easily, overstays its welcome, and messes up your home before leaving.
That is why I am here writing a post, one day after completing the Ultimate Blog Challenge.
I absolutely loved doing the Challenge. I loved the structure. I loved the knowledge that I had made a commitment. I loved the trust I built over the days–trust in myself to fulfill that commitment. I loved the writing and I loved the comments people left. I loved going to bed satisfied, without regret.
All that love is a hard act to follow. I feel the pressure of “What now?” What do I do today that will continue the energy of the Challenge?
The minute I ask those questions I begin to hear many more:
- What are my goals for my blog?
- What are my goals for me?
- What is the best way to make use of daily writing?
- What kind of structure will support me the way the Challenge supported me?
- What boundaries were inherent in the Challenge, and how do boundaries help me?
- Part of what the Challenge provided was a sense of community and support; how do I create those elements now?
For me, finding answers always means having lots of questions. First questions, then writing, then answers.
A good ending for this post eludes me. That seems appropriate enough. Today is not an ending. It is just another day, another day of writing, another day of whatever my personal challenge will be.
Questions for Reflection: How do you respond to meeting a goal or finishing a big challenge? Have you ever experienced the “after-the-test syndrome”? What goals do you have for yourself now? What questions might you ask yourself to make your goals clear to yourself?
Writing Prompts: “The last time I reached a big goal I ______” (then keep writing); “I tend to react to success by ______” (then keep writing); “My most immediate goal is to ______” (then keep writing); “I feel best supported in reaching my goals when ______” (then keep writing).
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{ 2 comments… read them below or add one }
I too enjoyed the challenge of writing at least one post each day and I’m thankful that I did not give up but saw it through to its completion.
I plan to continue blogging daily, but spread it out among 4 blogs instead of focusing on just one, and since the #blogboost hashtag will still be available to us, as was #blog30 I’ll keep putting those on my posts so that the relationship developed with bloggers in those challenges can continue. We supported each other and we can still do so even if there’s no formal challenge. I look forward to continue reading your posts.
Yvonne – Can you tell me what you mean by blogging daily but spreading it out among 4 blogs? Do you mean work on the blogs daily but publish just four? Sounds like a good plan. I know that I am not going to post daily (doesn’t leave enough time for other things), but I want to preserve the daily focus. I didn’t know about continued use of the hashtag, so that excites me. The support was one of the benefits of doing this challenge. I’ll look forward to seeing you here and on your site, where I will be following.