Do it for 37days

"How we spend our days is, of course, how we spend our lives." -Annie Dillard

This is for my friend, Mary, and for me. And, perhaps, for you.

What would you do with your 37days? That’s the premise behind 37days, after all … and so, a challenge. To myself as much as to you. I know that several 37days readers have already taken up this challenge in the past–focus on something for just 37days. Trust me, the time will fly by. Like life does.

Alfred Adler has said we should "Trust only movement. Life happens at the level of events, not of words. Trust movement." What, if you did it consistently for 37days (and perhaps beyond), would create positive vibes, intentional joy, good feng shui, fantastic direction and deep expansiveness in your life? What one thing could you do that would start you on the road, that magical road to wholeness and hope and freedom? Can you do it for just 37days?

Perhaps cleaning out one drawer every day in your house for 37days. Perhaps writing one Haiku every day for 37days. Or eating 5 fruits and vegetables a day for 37days, or writing for 10 minutes each day for 37days, or purging your basement for 15 minutes a day for 37days, or walking for 10 minutes a day for 37days, or doing push-ups every day for 37days, or reading for 10 minutes a day for 37days. Whatever it is, do it. Just for 37days. Just 37. 37.

That’s doable. Decide on It, the Thing You Will Do. And then, do it.

Or, perhaps, it is something you will stop doing for 37days. Stop hiding, stop spending, stop smoking, stop making excuses, stop blaming, stop eating Poptarts.

And as my friend Max Bristol wrote on the back of his jacket in high school, a message of great comfort in gym class as he passed me repeatedly on the track while I moaned my way through the mandatory mile run: "a man (and presumably, a woman, I have to add) can do anything as long as he knows there is an end to it."

Three years ago today, the man whose 37 day journey sparked this writing was diagnosed with lung cancer. Boyce died 37 days later. Make use of the next 37 days. It’s important.

~*~ 37 Days: Do it Now Challenge ~*~

Narrow your focus to one thing. One small thing. Just do it for 37days. Starting today, not next Tuesday, not after you finish off the Honeycrisp apples dipped lovingly in hot caramel sauce, not after that next trip to Albuquerque, not after you finish alphabetizing your canned goods, but Right Now. Go ahead, change your life in 37days. Incrementally.

And while you’re at it, answer this question: Why are we so willing to disappoint ourselves by not following through on such an easy commitment? 

What will you do for your 37days?