I’ve definitely learned a lot over the many trials I’ve done so far and wanted to look back and see how I’m still applying them.

Bike as Primary Transportation

To this day, I still ride my bike to work nearly every day. The only days I don’t are those which I’ll be driving somewhere immediately after, most often home to Chicago.

Thru the entire winter this year, which seemed to have finally ended a couple weeks ago. There were some definite days that were brutal, but looking back, those days are what make life exciting.

Something that definitely helped is my current living situation. I am in a spot that is not only convenient for work, but also for running errands on foot. I can get groceries in a 20 minute.

One thing I’ve found that helped me keep up this habit is to leave my car in an inconvenient place, currently a friend’s house a mile or so away. In order to drive somewhere, I need to go way out of my way, just to get in the driver’s seat. I probably wouldn’t even bother with owning a car if it wasn’t for the frequency of going to different places a few hours away.

Journaling

Another habit I maintain today, though I only recently started up again.

I try to start every day with at least a few thoughts that are on my mind to kick start my mind for the day. I tried having a structure at first, but found myself breaking away from it too often. I decided to just do away with a structured approach and just write what was in my head at that moment.

I’m not only getting my day started journaling, but also using the practice to wind down at night. In the past, I’ve found my mind running at 1000 miles per hour as soon as I close my eyes to sleep, but getting everything out of my head as an evening routine has helped put an end to that.

There I times when I use the pages available to do a full mind dump and get anything that’s been bugging me or questions that I’ve been pondering.

Vegetarian Diet

This one was tough to maintain for the few weeks I gave it a try, but I was able to do it.

For me, the biggest difficulty is completely eliminating options. I love trying new foods, and eliminating so many choices is just something I am not willing to do. I could definitely see myself following a no meat diet in a short timeframe, but as a long term life choice, it’s just not for me.

As with many of the other trials, this one taught me a lot about patience and forced me to approach life differently than I typically would. I tried a number of different recipes and dishes that I otherwise would not have.

My first three trials were a lot of fun. In each of them I learned and grew a lot. Tune in Next Time for a discussion of cold showers, reading, and sacrifices.