Try something new for 30 days - Matt Cutts

TED-Ed

5 Apr 201303:27

Summary

TLDRThe speaker shares his transformative experience with 30-day challenges, inspired by Morgan Spurlock. He discovered that dedicating a month to new habits made time more memorable and boosted his self-confidence. From daily photography to biking for fun and even conquering Mount Kilimanjaro, he learned that persistence and small, sustainable changes lead to lasting impacts. He encourages the audience to seize the next 30 days to try something new, emphasizing the power of short-term commitments to long-term goals.

Takeaways

🔄 Embracing change: The speaker highlights the idea of trying something new for 30 days to break out of a rut.
📅 Time significance: 30 days is identified as a manageable period to establish or eliminate a habit.
📸 Memory enhancement: Taking a daily photo for a month made the time more memorable and provided a clear recollection of specific days.
🚴‍♂️ Boosting self-confidence: Engaging in 30-day challenges led to a noticeable increase in self-confidence, transforming the speaker's lifestyle.
🏔️ Overcoming limits: The speaker's adventurous spirit was ignited, culminating in hiking Mount Kilimanjaro, a feat not previously imagined.
💡 Desire to achieve: The importance of desire is underscored, suggesting that with enough motivation, one can accomplish anything for 30 days.
✍️ Novel writing example: Writing a novel in a month is achievable by committing to a daily word count, as demonstrated by the speaker's experience.
🌙 Sacrifice for success: The secret to completing the novel was staying up late to meet the daily writing goal, even at the cost of sleep.
🎨 Creativity in identity: Completing the novel allowed the speaker to identify as a novelist, showcasing the power of creative achievement.
🍬 Temporary vs. sustainable: The speaker learned that while big challenges are fun, small, sustainable changes are more likely to persist.
🛑 The rebound effect: Giving up sugar for 30 days was successful, but the challenge was to maintain the change beyond the 30-day period.
🏃‍♂️ Call to action: The speaker encourages the audience to seize the next 30 days to try something they've always wanted to do.

Q & A

What inspired the speaker to start the 30-day challenges?
-The speaker was inspired by the Great American philosopher Morgan Spurlock, who encouraged trying something new for 30 days.
Why is 30 days considered the right amount of time to add or subtract a habit?
-Thirty days is believed to be just about the right amount of time to establish a new habit or eliminate an existing one, as it is long enough to see progress but not too long to be overwhelming.
How did the speaker's perception of time change after starting the 30-day challenges?
-The speaker found that instead of months flying by and being forgotten, the time became more memorable, especially when taking a picture every day for a month.
What impact did the 30-day challenges have on the speaker's self-confidence?
-The 30-day challenges helped the speaker's self-confidence to grow, transforming him from a computer nerd to someone who enjoys biking to work and even hiking up Mount Kilimanjaro.
What is the significance of writing sixteen hundred and sixty-seven words a day to complete a novel in 30 days?
-Writing 1,667 words a day for 30 days is the strategy used by tens of thousands of people during November to write a 50,000-word novel from scratch, which is the basis of National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo).
What advice does the speaker give for successfully completing a 30-day challenge?
-The speaker suggests that if you really want something badly enough, you can do it for 30 days, and for writing a novel, the secret is not to go to sleep until you've written your words for the day.
What was the outcome of the speaker's attempt to write a novel in a month?
-The speaker successfully wrote a novel in a month, calling it 'The Next Great American Novel,' but admitted that it was awful.
How does the speaker feel about his new identity as a novelist?
-The speaker feels empowered by his new identity as a novelist, as it allows him to present himself differently in social situations, such as at a Ted party.
What did the speaker learn about making small, sustainable changes during his 30-day challenges?
-The speaker learned that small, sustainable changes are more likely to stick compared to big, crazy challenges, which can be fun but less likely to become long-term habits.
What is the speaker's final question to the audience, and what is its purpose?
-The speaker's final question is 'What are you waiting for?', encouraging the audience to take action and try something new for the next 30 days, as time will pass regardless.

Outlines

00:00

🚀 Embracing New Challenges for 30 Days

The speaker begins by expressing gratitude and sharing their personal journey of breaking out of a rut by undertaking new challenges for 30 days, inspired by the American filmmaker Morgan Spurlock. The concept revolves around trying to incorporate a new habit or eliminate an existing one, such as news watching, within a month. The speaker discovered that this period is ideal for habit formation. They reflect on the increased memorability of time through daily activities like photography and the growth in self-confidence resulting from these challenges, transitioning from a computer nerd to an adventurous individual who enjoys biking to work and even climbing Mount Kilimanjaro. The narrative emphasizes the power of determination and the feasibility of achieving goals within 30 days, as illustrated by the example of National Novel Writing Month, where participants aim to write a 50,000-word novel in 30 days by writing a set number of words daily.

Mindmap

Keywords

💡30-day challenges

The concept of '30-day challenges' refers to committing to a new habit or activity for a month-long period. In the video, it is presented as a method to instill or eliminate habits, with the speaker sharing personal experiences of how it made their life more memorable and boosted their self-confidence. The idea is that dedicating 30 days to a pursuit can lead to lasting change.

💡self-confidence

Self-confidence is a person's belief in their own abilities and worth. In the context of the video, the speaker's self-confidence grew as they successfully completed various 30-day challenges, transforming from a 'death dwelling computer nerd' to someone who enjoys biking to work and even hiking Mount Kilimanjaro.

💡new habit

A 'new habit' is a behavior or routine that a person decides to adopt and perform regularly. The video emphasizes that 30 days is an optimal timeframe to establish a new habit, as demonstrated by the speaker's challenge to take a picture every day for a month, which made time more memorable.

💡subtract a habit

'Subtract a habit' means to eliminate or stop a certain behavior. The video mentions this in the context of removing the habit of watching the news, suggesting that 30-day challenges can be used to both add and remove habits from one's life.

💡Morgan Spurlock

Morgan Spurlock is an American filmmaker and television producer known for his documentary films that involve personal challenges. In the video, the speaker mentions following in Spurlock's footsteps, indicating that the idea of undertaking 30-day challenges was inspired by his work.

💡Mount Kilimanjaro

Mount Kilimanjaro is the highest mountain in Africa. The speaker uses this as an example of an adventurous activity they undertook as a result of their increased self-confidence from completing 30-day challenges, showcasing how such challenges can lead to personal growth and new experiences.

💡writing a novel

The act of 'writing a novel' is highlighted in the video as a significant 30-day challenge. The speaker mentions participating in National Novel Writing Month, where the goal is to write a 50,000-word novel from scratch in 30 days, illustrating the power of focused, time-bound commitments.

💡sustainable changes

'sustainable changes' refers to modifications in behavior or lifestyle that can be maintained over the long term. The video suggests that small, sustainable changes are more likely to stick compared to big, short-lived challenges, as evidenced by the speaker's experience of giving up sugar for 30 days.

💡memorable

To be 'memorable' means to be worth remembering or easily recalled. The video script describes how the 30-day challenges made the speaker's time more memorable, as they were able to recall specific moments and activities from their daily picture-taking challenge.

💡novelty

Novelty is the state of being new, unusual, or different. The video encourages the pursuit of novelty by trying something new for 30 days, which can lead to personal growth and a more fulfilling life experience, as demonstrated by the speaker's various challenges.

💡John Hodgman

John Hodgman is an American author, actor, and humorist. In the video, the speaker humorously mentions him as a hypothetical person they might meet at a party, using the context to illustrate how completing a 30-day challenge to write a novel allowed them to identify as a 'novelist' rather than just a 'computer scientist'.

Highlights

The speaker was once stuck in a rut and decided to try something new for 30 days, inspired by Morgan Spurlock.

The 30-day challenge concept is to add or subtract a habit within a month, which is believed to be enough time to form a new habit.

The speaker found that time became more memorable when engaging in 30-day challenges, such as taking a daily picture for a month.

Participating in more challenging 30-day challenges led to a noticeable increase in the speaker's self-confidence.

The speaker transformed from a computer nerd to an adventurous person who enjoys biking to work and even climbed Mount Kilimanjaro.

The speaker discovered that with enough desire, one can achieve anything for 30 days, exemplified by writing a novel in a month.

The secret to writing a novel in 30 days is to write 1,667 words daily and not go to sleep until the task is completed.

The speaker humorously admits that the novel written in a month is not great but serves as a conversation piece at parties.

Small, sustainable changes are more likely to stick compared to big, crazy challenges, which are less likely to be maintained.

The speaker humorously describes the immediate return to old habits after giving up sugar for 30 days.

The speaker encourages the audience to take advantage of the inevitable passing of the next 30 days to try something new.

The speaker emphasizes the importance of starting a 30-day challenge with something one has always wanted to do.

The transcript showcases the transformative power of committing to a 30-day challenge for personal growth and habit formation.

The speaker's personal anecdotes provide a relatable and motivational narrative for the audience to consider their own potential 30-day challenges.

The transcript highlights the psychological impact of 30-day challenges on self-confidence and the ability to overcome perceived limitations.

The speaker's experience with writing a novel in 30 days demonstrates the feasibility of large goals when broken down into daily tasks.

The transcript concludes with a call to action for the audience to reflect on their desires and take steps towards achieving them within the next 30 days.