FAQ's

I'm over seven months into this whole thing, and over the course of those months I've been asked a lot of questions. I will now answer them here.

WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE CHALLENGE?
I would say all of them, but that's too PC of an answer. While there is not one challenge that I wasn't excited to receive or complete, my favorite is a tie between flying a plane, spending the night in a women's shelter, attending ten religious services, and learning to sew. Those really represent what this whole endeavor was all about. Quit your whining if you didn't make the top four and then read words 14 through 27 of this paragraph.

WHAT HAS BEEN THE MOST CHALLENGING CHALLENGE?
The daily challenges are the toughest, specifically sitting in silence and stillness for fifteen minutes first thing every morning. This does not mean that this is my least favorite challenge. It just means that it has required the most adjustment in my daily life. Some days I need it and look forward to it and enjoy it. Other days I am impatient and inundated with swirling thoughts. The one thing I've learned is to just go with it. Don't force calmness. Just be.

DO YOU DO YOUR DAILY CHALLENGES EVERY DAY?
Nope. I do my best, but there are a few days here or there that get away from me. I would apologize for it, but I have thirty challenges to do, so get off my back.

WHAT'S YOUR CHALLENGE THIS MONTH?
I am doing thirty challenges over the course of a year. They are not separated by month. I complete them at my own pace.

DO YOU REGRET DOING THIS WHOLE CHALLENGE THING?
Not even a little bit. I would have never had some of these life-changing experiences otherwise. And it makes future goals seem more possible. Can I learn French next year? I now know that I can. Because it's one challenge. Not thirty. And the fact that I've inspired others to incorporate challenges on some level into their lives makes it that much more worth it.

DID AUSTIN PROPOSE JUST TO KNOCK CHALLENGE NO. 13 OFF THE LIST?
No. If Kurt Cobain and Michael Jackson were singing a duet on that rooftop in Rome, I would have been just as surprised.

I WANT TO DO THIS THIRTY CHALLENGE THING. DO YOU HAVE ANY ADVICE?
Write a blog about it. It's the most motivating thing you can possibly do.

WHY HAVEN'T YOU STARTED MY CHALLENGE?
Because I hate you.