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"Solvitur ambulando." -- St. Augustine I'm going to keep this one mostly non-specific and open, rather than making a list of required tasks to check off. With the changing of the seasons, I felt it necessary to choose a challenge that inspires me to get outside and into nature. In addition to starting a new tour of Soulcon and continuing my Spartan-motivated training (see past challenge here), I have a few goals, the first of which are taken from the book The Wander Society. If you're not familiar with it, author Keri Smith "discovered" a secret society known as The Wander Society, an elite group of thinkers that has existed for more than a century and whose members include such wandering souls as Walt Whitman (considered the patron saint of TWS), Gertrude Stein, John Muir, William Wordsworth, Baudelaire, Thoreau, Aristotle, Langston Hughes, Thich Nhat Hanh, and many others. So as you can see, the movement is very much inspired by mindfulness and meditation, "wandering" but not mindlessly, rather in search of an adventure. It is also about disconnecting, putting down our devices for a while and allowing our bodies, minds, and souls to "wander," to experience the world directly. So here are the goals, or what TWS calls the Precepts: 1. Wander every day (at least 10,000 steps) 2. Do not plan your wanderings. Start in any direction. The location is not important. 3. Use whatever you have. (You have everything you need.) Use your senses. 4. Collect and gather. Document experiences and findings. 5. Remain open. Breathe deeply. Ask the question, ‘What can I discover?’ 6. Allow ideas to come in. Write them down. 7. Question everything you have been told. 8. Use your imagination in your wanderings. 9. Use your intuition. Follow your hunches. Go toward what you are drawn to. 10. Encourage your own wild nature. What makes you feel truly alive? In addition, I have a few specific goals that I need to add to my usual (again, see past challenges) habits: Read for at least 20 minutes every day--this means sitting down for at least 20 minutes and reading without interruption and without distraction. Write for at least 20 minutes every day--same specs as above.

Reposting from my introduction thread: I'm 28 years old and have been working and going to school for the last 10 years. That's how I would describe myself to people; I work and go to school and sometimes I get to play roller hockey. However, I finally graduated this month and am still searching for full time employment so I think it's time I cultivate a new identity. Over the last 4 or 5 years of school I've had lots of sleep deprivation, copious amounts of caffeine, forgetting to eat, and stress eating so I've gained probably around 60 pounds. During that time I've tried making changes to my diet and exercise, like eliminating fast food, incorporating more vegetables, eating several small meals a day, and getting regular exercise. Each time I got serious about it I would lose about 20 pounds and several inches but then something would come along (an assignment or exam) and I'd get stressed, get sick, fall behind and get more stressed, get poor grades and get depressed, and gain back all the weight and then some. Inevitably I got tired of the methods I was using anyway (although cutting out fast food and eating more vegetables has stuck). Eating several small meals a day and tracking calories made me constantly hungry and constantly thinking about what I was going to eat and when. I felt like my life revolved around food. And I hate cardio so I could never stay motivated to exercise. All that said, I fancy myself as adventurous, curious, athletic, and strong. Unfortunately, I don't really feel like any of those things. Hence, why I am ceasing to lurk and am finally joining the Rebellion! I'm hoping I can get out of my comfort zone to meet some new people, learn some new things, and reach my goals. Right now I'm aiming to improve my diet first and foremost. With the help of MyFitnessPal I've been tracking calories but I also want to focus on my macros. I seem to eat a ton of carbs and not very much protein. I hate cooking and am on a pretty tight budget so making the necessary changes might be difficult. If anyone has any advice, tips, simple recipes I'd love to hear them! As far as exercising, with the exception of playing roller hockey once a week I've been pretty sedentary for the last few months so I'm trying to work back into it. I figured something simple like playing disc golf a few times a week and doing yoga or TRX a few days a week would be a good approach but I can't seem to find any consistency so I'm hoping to find some accountability for myself here on the forums. Eventually I'd love to find a gym where I can train in Olympic weightlifting. It's also on my list to get more into hiking, biking, kayaking, and sailing now that I have more time. And of course play more hockey!