Saying "NO" in November...

So without a doubt one of my greatest struggles is simply that of self-discipline. I guess that isn't so unusual, I suspect most people would have to admit the same thing if they were being honest.

I am not particularly talking about the 'big' things, although they can have their moments, but I regularly make bad choices when it comes to the 'little things'. I am more likely to drive to work than walk, more likely to have seconds of food I enjoy even if I'm pretty full and if I am considering whether to buy chips or not there is a good chance NOT is going to lose. Most of these things are not really the end of the world on their own but they do represent a pattern in parts of my life of giving in to things more than is good for me.

While spending a day recently doing a lot of driving (which always gives me a lot of time to think) I decided to deliberately spend one month focusing on making the better decisions more often & November seemed like a great time to do it (after all it will be over before Christmas this way!). So was born the idea of sayNOvember - a month of trying to say "NO" more often to the the things I usually say yes to. It's corny, I know, but then most good gimmicks are!

I didn't initially plan for it to be more than just a personal challenge, but having shared it with a few people (my wife & our home group) it turns out that some others like the idea & want to join in so I agreed to blog about it so they could comment on what they want to achieve. At least having some others involved & putting it in writing will make it less easy to just pike out.

Ideas like this can so often end up being very religious and guilt driven; that is not something I have any interest in. For me it is simply a chance to try to get into the habit of making better choices more often. Feel free to join in if you want but make your own decisions on what you would like to challenge yourself to. If you choose to make them public don't let it be a guilt thing if you don't get it perfect, a bit of transparency & honesty just might make us all feel human & real (God forbid!).

My challenges...
In addition to a general commitment to making some better choices more often I have also decided to give a couple of things up completely for the month of NOvember...

• Chips (particularly potato crisps) are a bit of a weakness of mine so I am going to give them a miss for the month & although I might have some hot chips in moderation if they are served to me as part of a normal meal I will be keeping them to a minimum as well.
• BEER! Drinking too much at any one time is not something I have a problem with but I do enjoy a few beers on a regular basis & am especially fond of beeroclock (Fri avo's when work finishes!). Being something that can really control people I have also decided to pretty much give drinking alcohol a miss for the month as well.

Twitter
A few of us are into Twitter so will be tweeting on & off about our successes (and failures) throughout NOvember using the hashtag #saynovember - if you decide to join in then feel free to also join the conversation.