Well, even though I caved and got delivery twice over the weekend (my excuse: I wasn’t feeling well), overall I still need to give myself snaps for the progress I made on my goals. I now have a wee veggie garden, tons of worms happily turning my garbage into soil, and a much less gnarly delivery habit. Typically, before the challenge, I’d order in at least 2 or 3 times a week. Now it’s a much more rare occurrence, and I appreciate it so much more.

I also noticed several funny things about the process of changing my habits ...

1) I’m much more likely to succeed if other people are involved.

This is true for everything from cutting back on delivery meals to exercising—if I’ve made a commitment to someone besides myself, I put a lot more effort into that commitment. This could just be a pitiable lack of self-discipline, but it seems fairly common—most of us need someone to have our backs in moments of weakness.

2) At the beginning, it’s easy to forget.

Towards the start of the challenge, I’d have a falafel in my hand before I even remembered I was trying to change! I learned it’s helpful to take some time every day to review what I’m trying to achieve.

3) Progress is a better measure in every way than perfection.

Holding myself to too stringent a standard is actually counterproductive. Like a dieter who strays then wolfs down a chocolate cake in regret, I find that when my goal is perfection, any slip-up is enough to get me completely off track. It works a lot better to consider the occasional backslide as part of the process, then get right back on track.

How did your challenge go overall? Did you learn anything about yourself? Were you able to break unwanted habits and create ones you like better? Let us know in the comments!

(image by David Boyle via flickr.)