Laura's Learnings

Documenting my life

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The 100 day challenge – end 2022 with a bang

September 22, 2022 / / 0 Comments

There are 100 days left in 2022. How are you doing? If there is something you wanted to accomplish this year, but haven’t gotten round to it, this is your reminder that it’s not too late: you have exactly 100 days before the end of the year. 

What could you do in 100 days?

100 days is a great timeframe to achieve significant goals. You can go from being a literal couch potato to being able to run 5K easily (you can read my week by week experience including setbacks, learnings and tips, here). You can start a blog, finally get your business up and running. What would your life look like in a 100 days, if you committed to doing a 15 minute workout every day? Or if you did the 5 minute journal daily and set the main priorities for the day, then followed through and reflected on what you could have done better? What would happen if you stopped being on your phone from 9 pm and read a book or picked up another hobby instead? Maybe you want to use these 100 days to go to bed one hour earlier or have an energizing morning routine. 

Why 100?

A hundred days is a great milestone for any habit or activity you want to do regularly. It’s enough time to make a significant impact, but it is also doable, a challenge you can take on, knowing it can be completed successfully. It will allow you to say goodbye to 2022 with a bang, proud of having achieved something cool in a short amount of time!

Focus on one thing

What is the one thing that would have the highest impact?

Focus on that, let that be your one priority. Sure, you can have multiple goals and other things you want to improve, but it’s important to define the one that is the most important and impactful. On the days when you will be tired, busy, or something else gets in the way, being able to know what to focus on, while dropping the other tasks, will allow you to maintain momentum


Find something you are passionate about, and make it measurable

This point is self explanatory, but it’s obviously important to set yourself an inspiring challenge. Pick something you really want to do, something you know will help you moving forward and something you will be proud to have accomplished. Take some time to reflect on why this goal is important to you and how it will benefit you. 

The other important point to consider is how you define the goal. Wanting to eat healthy or exercise more are great things to strive for, but it is difficult to know exactly what to do and it is not easy to figure out if you have done it or not. Instead, a measurable goal, like “go to the gym three times a week, for 30 minutes minimum” is a clear goal, that will take away the stress of figuring out what to do, and allows you to focus on actually doing the thing. And you will be able to know if you have done it or not, with no doubt

Track and review

As with many things, tracking will help you see two things.

  • 100 days is a finite and relatively short amount of time
  • You have already accomplished your goal for x many days and you can be proud of that.

Tracking will also come in useful when you do your weekly review, to know what went to plan and why something might not have gone as you had imagined. This will allow you to get curious and brainstorm how you can improve the following week.

If you liked this article, please sign up to the newsletter for monthly round ups and extra interesting snippets, and follow lauraslearnings on twitter to be updated on the latest post. 🙂

If you decide to take on this 100 day challenge, I’d love to know what your goal is, please leave it in the comments below!

How to deal with criticism Bravery and the Man in the Arena

September 18, 2022 / / 0 Comments

I came across this quote from Theodore Roosevelt in Daring Greatly by Brené Brown, a book I highly recommend. The quote touches on others’ judgement, criticism, self-worth and expecting and preparing for hardships.

It is not the critic who counts, not the one who points out how the strong man stumbled or how the doer of deeds might have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred with sweat and dust and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs and comes short again and again; who knows the great enthusiasms, the great devotions, and spends himself in a worthy cause; who, if he wins, knows the triumph of high achievement; and who, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who know neither victory nor defeat.

Theodore Roosevelt

There are three key messages in this text, which I will detail below.

Pick whose opinion you value

This is something to keep in mind when trying something new, taking up a new project or putting yourself out there. Especially if you are worried of others’ opinions and judgement or people criticise you. Ask yourself who the negative comments are coming from. Is it someone who is in the arena? Are they as courageous as you, or do the not have any first hand experience? It’s important to consider all feedback if it is constructive, but usually the unnecessary and unwelcome comments that are not helpful come from folks who do not have more or, at least, equal experience or knowledge as you. In this case, their opinion doesn’t really count.

It will be tough, be prepared

The second takeaway is the acknowledgement that being in the arena will lead to sweat, dust and blood and you will probably come short, i. e. have setbacks multiple times. If we expect messiness, hardships and fatigue, we can prepare ourselves and try to put some strategies in place to pick ourselves back up. If we don’t know this is to be expected, we might find ourselves doubting our capability and wondering if we should give up 

Know your worth

Closely linked to both points above is the fact that you need to be strong in the knowledge of your abilities and resilience to be able to ignore criticism that is sterile. You must also be willing to fight and spend a lot of time and energy into the project you are tackling, which is easier to do if you have faith in yourself and your capacity to overcome issues.

I have found the image of the man in the aren useful in multiple occasions and hope it can be helpful to you too

How to stop overthinking

September 11, 2022 / / 1 Comment

This is a collection of strategies that can be useful when facing a potentially challenging situation, in case you tend to overthink about it.

Of course every situation is different and these are simply things that have been helpful to me and others. If you are struggling please seek professional help or call someone.

Remind yourself of past challenges

If you are worried right now, it can be useful to think about past experiences where something seemed and was really hard and you got through it.

We can do hard things. Everything is figureoutable.

Sometimes, something seems hard and it turns out it is not as challenging – maybe this is the case for you now. But even if it is something actually difficult and scary, you have done hard things before and you will figure it out this time as well.

Have a plan B and a plan Z

It’s often helpful to know that you are prepared to handle something difficult that might be coming your way. Take some time to think of how you would deal with something negative and figure out a plan B and a plan Z, for the absolute worse case scenario. Maybe you move in with your parents or live on a friend’s couch for a while. You contact a charity organisation that could help with your problem. I recommend journaling to put these ideas pen to paper and use a stream of consciousness style to brainstorm what is worrying you and why first, and then many possible solutions later. It can also be helpful to talk to a friend to bounce ideas off of each other.

Stop replaying the worse case scenario

If you are anything like me, sometimes you tend to worry and imagine the worst case scenario and mentally try and plan and imagine the details of what would happen. In this case, another useful thing is to practice interrupting this thought process when you realize it’s happening. With time, you will be able to at least diminish the overthinking. Critically, it doesn’t really help: it’s great if you can have a plan in place (see point above), but once that is decided, thinking about the issue over and over won’t bring you any further benefits. It’s very difficult to accurately imagine what will happen, what that will look like, what it will bring us, what we will learn and how we will look at this 1, 2, 5, 20 years from now.

Think way ahead

Although impossibile to accurately know, trying to think about how our future self will look back at the situation is a good exercise to detach ourselves from the present moment and get a bird’s eyes view. But even then, we won’t really know how things will turn out, so worrying too much is pointless.

Focus on appreciating the current moment

You are losing time and not enjoying the present, where there is no issue-you-are-thinking-about-that-probably-won’t-happen-anyway. Think of a plan for the worse case scenario and then divert your thoughts away from the issue if you find yourself overthinking this in the future. Why spend time worrying about something potentially negative if you can’t do anything about it and waste even the “little” good times just ahead?

Keep busy

Having an activity that keeps you focused on something specific is useful as it takes your mind off of the issue that is worrying you. If you have a job, going to work will be helpful. Finding an activity to do, preferably something with or for someone else, is a great idea for your free time, as well as learning something new

My Couch to 5K (C25K) Journey

September 4, 2022 / / 0 Comments

I wanted to do some exercise, given it was a year and and half since I stopped doing regular workouts. My main goal was to feel healthier and fitter and knowing I could run for 30 minutes would be proof, to me, of good health. So I signed up for the Couch to 5K program, which takes you from “couch potato” fitness levels to running for 30 minutes in 9 weeks.

The following is a week by week recount of the whole program, which I started at the beginning of the year. I am very grateful I took notes along the way, because I can look back and see the progress and remember how I was doing along the way

How it works

There are plenty of apps, I used one from the UK NHS. Every week there are three planned runs: initially it will be alternating walking and running, building up to 20 minutes of running continuously. They recommend having rest days in between runs, to avoid injuries and improve fitness. If you cannot finish a run, it is obviously OK to stop and it is advised to repeat it before moving on to the next one. I personally really liked having a structure and slowly building a habit.

WEEK 1

First run was interesting. I found the first few rounds simple, but I hadn’t properly considered the fact that there were 8 rounds in total. I simply slowed down during the last two. They say the first run is the hardest, and that was now done!

The second and third run were quite easy, it was nice. Mixing up walking and running is good to switch things up a bit. I did notice the third run was harder, because it was very cold day [beginning of January].

WEEK 2

A slight increase in running time at the start of the week. Not particularly challenging. The app gives you tips along the way and this week’s one was focused on breathing. I didn’t always remember to do it “properly”, but I tried to do so if I was feeling tired.

Tip: Something which I find useful is accountability and motivation. I joined a facebook group on running and found it inspiring to see others pushing through and becoming better. I rarely use facebook, but I made it a point to check out the group if I wasn’t feeling like running. It helped for Run 3, since it was a gloomy day and I was considering skipping the run. I also started updating a friend who is also running, so we could motivate each other and keep each other accountable.

WEEK 3

Run 1 felt harder, running in intervals of 1.5 and 3 minutes instead of only 1.5. I was glad I did it! The hardest run for me is always the first one of the week, since there is a jump from the previous one. Once I complete it once, I know I can do it again.

Run 2 and 3 were easier, it’s actually impressive how much you can feel the difference.

Tip: I read online to “run with your hips”: they should be “driving” each step, you shouldn’t be bent forward. This is also similar to the advice that reminds you to look forward, keep your head up and stand tall. I recommend this if you are a beginner.

WEEK 4

Heard many people find this jump challenging and have to stop and repeat Week 3 runs before trying again, so I was a bit worried before going out. They also encourage you to “trust the program” and knowing that it had been created by experts did make me feel better. I also knew I could stop and repeat WEEK 3’s run if it was too hard.

Knowing this, I still did not go out running when I was supposed to. I wasn’t feeling well the day I was meant to go. The following day I was busy and then didn’t want to go outside in the dark.

Week 4 run 1 done! I was feeling a bit worried and I postponed it… I was meant to go a few days ago but didn’t, partly for actual reasons, partly from procrastination. But! I did it! I found it easier than W3R1.

So for anyone putting off a run, especially if starting a new week, I will repeat: trust the program!

A friend encouraged me to go and helped me figure out the best time for me to run and avoid excuses/reasons not to go

I didn’t run for six days because I had pulled a muscle and wanted to fully recover. I found myself itching to go for a run, though, which was a pleasant surprise.

Run 3 was harder than the second one. Probably because I started too fast on the first two runs. I need to be careful to not repeat this mistake in the future! Although it was really nice to see how much progress I made, the first run today felt like a breeze, while two weeks ago it felt challenging.

WEEK 5

Week 5 is different from the previous ones since all three runs are different from each other.

The third run will be 20 minutes of continuous running! It seems a lot and definitely an achievement, I couldn’t wait to try

The first run went well, easier than the last run of the previous week somehow. It might be related to the time of day, this time I went at 1pm, the other run was in an empty stomach at 8 am.

Second run down! 8 mins running, 5 walking and then another 8 running. Felt good, slowed down a bit at the end, although I learned my lesson and try to keep a steady pace rather than starting off with too much confidence. Next run is 20 minutes straight, no breaks. It feels like quite the step up, but I’ve been surprised by the program so far so I’m actually looking forward to Sunday.

I injured myself (not running), but I had to take a few days’ rest to avoid making things worse. I was quite gutted to be honest, I was looking forward to seeing if I could run 20 minutes.

I did the 20 minute run and I was pretty chuffed! I went slow and steady and it was easier than I thought.

Tip: Listen to a podcast. If you listen to music you will tend to match your pace with the beat of the song, so be mindful of that. There are playlists that have a specific number of bpm for this reason!

Having a podcast to pay attention to will distract your mind from the physical exercise.

The setback

I was travelling and then I got sick, so I didn’t run for a month. I picked up very slowly and went for a couple 5 minute jogs.

I then decided started back with week 5, since it had 5 minute runs to begin with, which I know I could do.

WEEK 6

It was satisfying to see I had not lost all my fitness and everything went pretty smoothly. The increase in the long run’s time was absolutely doable.

WEEK 7

From now on it’s continuous running, gradually increasing the time every week.

The program has already worked and built up a good foundation, so adding 3 minutes is not a big deal at this point. I always try to remember how good I feel afterwards, thanks to the endorphins and satisfaction.

WEEK 8

Nothing new to report. I will say I have noticed some days I felt in better shape than others – I used the slow running technique went I was getting tired, which is a great way to be able to run for longer.

WEEK 9

The satisfaction of running 30 minutes straight is definitely cool! I texted a few friends and I was buzzing 🙂

Final tips from a C25K graduate

  1. Trust the program
  2. Go slow
  3. Listen to a podcast or music if you want to be distracted
  4. Stop if something hurts
  5. The most difficult thing is getting out the door
  6. Accountability and encouragement
  7. Have a goal based on performance
  8. Repeat runs if you can’t finish one. Also good to keep this in mind if you stop running for more than 2 weeks
  9. Buy a good pair of shoes. You don’t have to spend hundreds of dollars, but proper running shoes will help avoid injuries
  10. Enjoy running! Be proud of how far you have come! Enjoy the process and celebrate what your body can do

How personal identity changes in time

July 28, 2022 / / 0 Comments

What does identity change mean?

Your identity is, at its core, you you are. It is usually not one thing only, but you are a multitude of different things. For example you are a teacher and a son and a brother and a swimmer and a reader etc. Identity change is when you add a new thing that describes you to the list of identities you have. You can also remove something from your list, for example you can become a non-smoker – although I think identity is usually more about what you are, not having a specific behaviour can also define who you are just much.

How did my identity change?

It started with running, no doubt. Why? It gave me the confidence to go out and do stuff with others, knowing I could do it.

How did I get there?

With small steps, guided through a training plan. Not an all-in challenge I would fail and resent. The goal is to be challenged but not hate what you are doing, since you need to want to come back to it. At the beginning, the best thing is to do whatever it takes to sweeten the pill. After a while, it’s probably best to have a more sustainable and long term beneficial approach. For example, always running while listening to music will eventually become less enjoyable, as opposed to randomly running with music and without, according to research, as discussed in The Huberman’s Lab podcast.

Forming a new identity

In the book Atomic Habits, the author states that “Every action you take is a vote for the type of person you wish to become” and I find it to be true, based on my experience. I have slowly started doing the specific activity and eventually it became part of my identity and therefore doing it was something I naturally did because it’s just who I am.
If you say yes to 5 opportunities to go on a hike in a row, you will likely say yes to the 6th one. It’s your new normal. And eventually it might even be the case that you are the one suggesting going on hikes. This is because you enjoy the activity and also so that you can keep your actions aligned with your identity.
This is generally said about values, for example this article on LinkedIn article says “Let your core values define you. So if you feel a lack of fulfilment, reflect on the various identities or roles you have in life and work and see if they align with your core values”. This article links identity and roles, which can be translated into actions, to values.

I think a link can also be found between identity and actions. While our identities (and our values) can change over time, the fact that our actions are aligned with our identity can help us feel contentment and fulfilled.
So taking on a new identity comes from developing a new habit or a new way of living your life, but, in turn, it will lead you to do actions related to this identity more often and naturally.

The “negative” effects of identity change

Sometimes folks are subconsciously afraid of changing something and taking on a new identity because they are afraid this will impact their social life. For example if your friend group is based around being foodies and going for brunch every weekend and trying new restaurants and meals, an identity linked to home cooked meals or eating healthy might be seen as a turn off by the rest of the group. This is because by changing your habits you could be “undermining” the core activity of the friend group. Of course this is not necessarily the case and it might steer the group towards healthy restaurants, for example, or switching up going put for meals for cooking at home all together as a bonding activity instead.

Another dynamic that can happen is that your change effectively becomes a testament to your friends’ inability to change For example, let’s suppose you and your friends have always avoided going to the gym or you all smoke. If you start working out or quit smoking, this can be seen as something you were able to accomplish, while your peers did not change anything despite also wanting to do so, deep down. This might separate you from the group.

If you have experienced a shift in your identity, how did you feel and what did you notice?

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