The 21 Day Experiment

In order to fully understand what I'm doing here, allow me to elaborate on my thoughts about the nature of humans.

We, as humans, are more than animals. Evolutionists would disagree, and say we're nothing more than smart monkeys. We may be smart monkeys--we're certainly a type of animal. But we're more than just smart monkeys. We're human.

And as humans, we're multi-dimensional. We're made up of different "dimensions" if you will...

There's the emotional aspect. The mental aspect. The physical aspect. The spiritual aspect...and the relational aspect.

Modern scientists may argue that at the heart of all these areas is nothing more than chemical reactions or electrical impulses in the brain.

I can't argue with that.

At a micro (or nano or pico) level, there may be nothing more than chemical reactions and electrical impulses going on. But just as our bodies are more than bags of dust and water, we're more than the sum of all the chemical reactions and electrical impulses in our bodies. It's the classic case of the sum being greater than all the component parts.

So forgive me if these dimensions are unscientific. They're not scientific descriptions, but philosophical ones, designed to help explain the various aspects of what it means to be human.

So to be a well-balanced person means to be healthy and fit in all these areas:

1. To be physically fit and healthy.
2. To be mentally engaged, alert, and aware of your surroundings.
3. To be emotionally intelligent, well-adjusted, not hindered by past failures or disappointments.
4. To be spiritually healthy (I'm still learning and exploring what exactly that means).
5. To have healthy, positive relationships with those around us.

So how do you achieve the proper balance in all those areas? In my experience, I'd find that I would be working on one to the detriment of another. And no matter how hard I tried, I failed to keep all of these areas in proper balance.

So what to do?

Time. More specifically, the management of it. I believe the classic principles of time management can help us here. To work on each of these areas takes time. And everyone is allotted 24 hours in each day, eight of which are spent sleeping (if you know what's good for you)...which means you've got 16 hours to do everything else.

That's 16 hours to take care of business (hygiene, chores, work, etc.), and work on these areas. So what if we defined particular goals in each area, and scheduled time to work on each one. Just like you were scheduling classes, or practice time (as a musician or athlete), or work schedules.

That's what I spent a great deal of time with last Sunday. I identified goals in each area and came up with a daily schedule that would help me achieve those goals by working on each of them on a daily basis.

They're part of my schedule now. Just as I used to have a regular time that I practiced my trumpet everyday, now I have a regular time that I get up for exercise; a regular time for prayer, meditation, and bible study; regular time for studying other subjects that interest me; regular time for meals; regular time to go to bed so I can get up at that regular time the next day; etc., etc.

It's not easy. Especially for a musician used to getting up anytime I damn well feel like it. In fact, I believe the only way to succeed long term is to combine all my desire, will-power, and the creation of a new self-image as the kind of person who is disciplined enough to keep all my dimensions in balance...and focus it on this 21 Day Experiment.

Just 21 Days. I'm not telling myself I'll change forever. I'm telling myself "just 21 consecutive days without interruption until it becomes habit."

In other words, for the next 21 days, I'm going to be a well-balanced person and work on being fit and healthy in every dimension of human experience. What changes will I notice? Is 21 days long enough to see much change? Will I feel adapted enough to my new life that it will become a natural habit from then on forward? Will I feel any different? Will I begin to notice myself actually becoming this new person that I imagine myself to be?

Those are some of the questions I hope to answer within the next 21 Days. Today is the fifth day of my experiment and so far so good, though last night I wound up going to bed a bit early because I was really tired.

But I do feel better. The exercise certainly feels good. I feel productive in a way. I'm exploring what it means to have a relationship with God, and I notice certain changes in my demeanor and character. I feel more patient...and confident...and at peace. I haven't had trouble getting to sleep at night, though it's butt-hard to get my ass out of bed at 6:45 am!

I'll keep you posted as this experiment unfolds...

The Stan