For nogle få år siden, følte jeg at jeg var kørt fast, så jeg valgte at følge i fodsporene på den store amerikanske filosof, Morgan Spurlock, og prøve noget nyt i 30 dage. Denne idé er faktisk rimelig simpel. Tænk på noget du altid har villet tilføje til dit liv og prøv det i de næste 30 dage. Det viser sig at 30 dage er lige det der skal til, for at tillægge sig en ny eller at slippe af med en gammel vane – som eksempelvis at se nyhederne. Jeg lærte en del ting, mens jeg lavede disse 30-dages udfordringer.
A few years ago, I felt like I was stuck in a rut, so I decided to follow in the footsteps of the great American philosopher, Morgan Spurlock, and try something new for 30 days. The idea is actually pretty simple. Think about something you've always wanted to add to your life and try it for the next 30 days. It turns out 30 days is just about the right amount of time to add a new habit or subtract a habit -- like watching the news -- from your life.
Den første var, at i stedet for at månederne fløj forbi, glemt, var tiden nemmere at huske. Dette var en del af én af mine udfordringer, hvor jeg tog et billede hver dag i en måned. Og jeg husker præcis hvor jeg var og hvad jeg lavede den dag. Jeg lagde også mærke til at som jeg lavede flere og sværere 30-dage udfordringer, steg min selvtillid. Jeg gik fra at være en skrivebordsarbejdende computernørd til at være den type, der cykler på arbejde – for sjov. Sidste år, endte jeg endda med at vandre op ad Mt. Kilimanjaro, det højeste bjerg i Afrika. Jeg ville aldrig have været så eventyrlysten før jeg startede mine 30-dage udfordringer. Det gik også op for mig
There's a few things I learned while doing these 30-day challenges. The first was, instead of the months flying by, forgotten, the time was much more memorable. This was part of a challenge I did to take a picture every day for a month. And I remember exactly where I was and what I was doing that day. I also noticed that as I started to do more and harder 30-day challenges, my self-confidence grew. I went from desk-dwelling computer nerd to the kind of guy who bikes to work. For fun! (Laughter) Even last year, I ended up hiking up Mt. Kilimanjaro, the highest mountain in Africa. I would never have been that adventurous before I started my 30-day challenges. I also figured out that if you really want something badly enough,
at hvis man virkelig vil noget stærkt nok, så kan man gøre alt på 30 dage. Har du altid ønsket at skrive en roman? Hver november forsøger titusinder af mennesker at skrive deres egen roman på 50.000 ord fra bunden, på 30 dage. Det viser sig, at alt hvad det kræver er at skrive 1.667 ord hver dag, i en måned. Så det gjorde jeg. Hemmeligheden er forresten, ikke at gå i seng før man har skrevet dagens ord. Du vil måske mangle søvn, men du vil færdiggøre din roman. Er min bog så den næste store amerikanske roman? Nej. Jeg skrev den på en måned. Den er forfærdelig. Men for resten af mit liv, vil jeg, hvis jeg møder John Hodgman til en TED fest, ikke behøver jeg at sige "Jeg er en datalog." Nej, nej, hvis jeg vil, kan jeg nu sige "Jeg er en forfatter". (Latter)
you can do anything for 30 days. Have you ever wanted to write a novel? Every November, tens of thousands of people try to write their own 50,000-word novel, from scratch, in 30 days. It turns out, all you have to do is write 1,667 words a day for a month. So I did. By the way, the secret is not to go to sleep until you've written your words for the day. You might be sleep-deprived, but you'll finish your novel. Now is my book the next great American novel? No. I wrote it in a month. It's awful. (Laughter) But for the rest of my life, if I meet John Hodgman at a TED party, I don't have to say, "I'm a computer scientist." No, no, if I want to, I can say, "I'm a novelist."
Så her er en sidste ting jeg vil nævne.
(Laughter)
Jeg lærte at når jeg lavede mindre, men vedholdende ændringer, ting som jeg kunne blive ved med at gøre, var jeg mere tilbøjelig til at holde fast ved dem. Der er intet galt med store, skøre udfordringer. Faktisk, så er de rigtig sjove. Men det er mindre sandsynligt at de holder. Da jeg holdt op med at spise sukker i 30 dage, så dag 31 sådan ud. (Latter)
So here's one last thing I'd like to mention. I learned that when I made small, sustainable changes, things I could keep doing, they were more likely to stick. There's nothing wrong with big, crazy challenges. In fact, they're a ton of fun. But they're less likely to stick. When I gave up sugar for 30 days, day 31 looked like this.
Så her er mit spørgsmål til dig:
(Laughter)
Hvad venter du på? Jeg garanterer dig, at de næste 30 dage forsvinder om du kan lide det eller ej, så hvorfor ikke finde på noget, som du altid har ønsket at prøve og giv det et forsøg i de næste 30 dage. Tak.
So here's my question to you: What are you waiting for? I guarantee you the next 30 days are going to pass whether you like it or not, so why not think about something you have always wanted to try and give it a shot! For the next 30 days.
(Bifald)
Thanks.