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Myrik decided to spend the next month preparing for his return to the ruins. Not sure what to expect he chose to improve his climbing ability, know that his shoulders need the most attention for his climbing he also decided that working on handstands would help with the climb. Know that the Evil inside the temple is capable of inflicting harm on one's soul, He decided to continue meditating and start reading to help with his mental focus. Goal I Climbing This month I will focus on Pull ups and Chin Ups. My plan to achieve this is to do 10 pull ups or chin ups (at a progress stage I can safely do) a day. 5 points a day where this is accomplished. Goal II Inversion Work on my handstand times. Currently I am stuck at the 30-45 second mark. My goal by the end of this is to double those times. So 60-75 second holds. To accomplish this goal I will do handstands every day for AMSAP. Every day I do this is 5 points. Completing overarching goal is 80 points. Goal III Ready for the Ruins Get my weight down. I want to drop 5 lbs this month, and get my body fat down as well. I don't know what my BF goal is but anything below the weekly average of 15% will be a win for me. 10 points a week for tracking 100 points if this is accomplished by the 26th of November. To achieve this I will continue to use my body tracking spreadsheet and start using MFP again. Goal IV Mental Fortitude Continue meditating twice a week for 10 plus minutes each time. I will maintain the same scoring as last month 10 points for each mediation session that exceeds 10 minute. Also would like to finish reading Ready Player One and start and finish The Father You've always wanted. If I can finish both by the end of the challenging I'll give myself 20 points 10 points a book, but only get the points if i finish both. If my calculations are correct this should be a total of 600 points. My rewards with be on the 100 point mark starting at 300 with a special reward for hitting 650 points through extra meditation(5) throughout the challenge. 300 points earns one nerdy reward 400 points earns one nerdy reward plus one fitness reward 500 points earns two nerdy rewards plus one fitness reward 600 points earns two nerdy rewards plus two fitness rewards 650 points Special reward of my choice. Points earned during zero week do not count towards overall points zero week is a category all its own if i can reach the 110 points in Zero week I will earn one small reward of my choice

Ballad's Challenge [#2] “And you? When will you begin that long journey into yourself?†― Rumi 2016 Epic Quest: Develop mental fortitude, discipline, and kindness. I'm very excited to officially join the Druids for my second challenge. For this challenge, I'll continue to focus on mental health and wellness - this time, with more of a focus on gratitude and being present. All of my challenges will be ongoing throughout February. I hope to continue to cement habits that I've been working on and build up new ones. For those of you who followed along on my first challenge, this format may look familiar (why mess with a good thing?). Quest #1: Go to sleep by 11pm on weekdays (Sun-Thurs) and 2:30am on weekends/holidays (Fri-Sat). I'm still working on the sleep thing. My last challenge took me out of the sleep deprivation cycle. This challenge, I intend to continue building better sleep habits by getting to bed before midnight on a regular basis. A+: 26 days A: 22-25 days B: 18-21 days C: 14-17 days D: 13 days F: Less than 13 days Quest #2: Make breakfast at home 3 times/week. [exceptions made for travel] Because breakfast at home means more energy right when I wake up and less money spent. Win/win. Week 1: Pass/Fail Week 2: Pass Fail Week 3: Pass/Fail Week 4: Pass/Fail Bonus: Remove caffeinated coffee from my diet for the month of February. Quest #3: Do at least 5 minutes of meditation per day. I want to build the habit of meditation into my life. The goal is less stress, more mindfulness, and increased mental resilience. A+: 26 days A: 22-25 days B: 18-21 days C: 14-17 days D: 13 days F: Less than 13 days I've also included one life quest. I plan to link this to my meditation quest by writing the list after I meditate. Life Quest: Write a daily gratitude list containing at least 3 items. Sometimes, I get so caught up in the negatives that I forget to stop and be thankful for all of the goodness in my life. I'm looking forward to this daily practice of gratitude. A+: 26 days A: 22-25 days B: 18-21 days C: 14-17 days D: 13 days F: Less than 13 days So, what happens when I succeed? I get access to the treasure pile, where treasures stack. Complete all 4 quests: Book a massage + bragging rights. Complete 3 quests: Purchase The Design of Everyday Things by Donald A. Norman. Complete 2 quests: Buy a new lipstick from MAC. Complete 1 quest: Watch a movie/documentary from my Netflix list. Please feel free to follow along, cheer me on, and ask about my progress! Cheers, Meaghan

Ballad's Challenge [#1] “There is a candle in your heart, ready to be kindled. There is a void in your soul, ready to be filled. You feel it, don't you?†Rumi 2016 Epic Quest: Develop mental fortitude, discipline, and kindness. My first challenge is dedicated to building a solid foundation of small, but extraordinarily important, habits that will support both my mental and physical health. Two quests (sleep and water) will be ongoing throughout the challenge. The third quest is a one-time achievement. Quest #1: Sleep for 7-8 hours per night. I need a minimum of 7 hours of sleep each night to be fully functional, thoughtful, and kind at work. Getting enough sleep gives me energy, is great for my skin, and allows me to exercise the willpower and discipline to make good, healthy decisions. It allows me maintain my perspective, particularly when stress rears its head, and helps me to be fully present in my relationships. A+: 26 days A: 22-25 days B: 18-21 days C: 14-17 days D: 13 days F: Less than 13 days Quest #2: Drink 1 glass of water each morning. The body is, what, 60% water? This shiz is clearly important. This is quest is intended to test (1) the effects of having a morning ritual, and (2) the energizing effects of drinking water right when I wake up. Future quests will include drinking 5-8 glasses of water per day, but I'm starting small for this challenge. Quick wins lead to momentum! A+: 26 days A: 22-25 days B: 18-21 days C: 14-17 days D: 13 days F: Less than 13 days Bonus: Bring a reusable water bottle to work. I don't drink enough water at work, so tearing down one of the barriers & bringing a water bottle to the office will make developing this habit much easier. Quest #3: Book a doctor's appointment. I'm embarrassed to say that I haven't seen my family doctor in almost 2 years. I feel & look healthy, but two years is much too long. I want to baseline my physical health for this challenge and make sure everything is good to go. Pass: Book an appointment. Fail: Don't book an appointment. Bonus: Book an appointment with a physiotherapist. I want to practice prevention, rather than rehabilitation. I'm a bit concerned about the future state of my knees, so I'd like to get a baseline from a physiotherapist to identify any problem areas & solutions. I've also included one life quest, based on my Goodreads goal of reading 35 books in 2016. (As a side note, please feel free to connect with me on GR!) Life Quest: Read 2 books between Jan. 4th - Jan. 29th. Pass: Read 2 books Fail: Read less than 2 books So, what happens when I succeed? I get access to the treasure pile, where treasures stack. Complete all 4 quests: Get a facial or sign up for a class (singing, improv, yoga, wine), + bragging rights Complete 3 quests: Buy a new workout top Complete 2 quests: Cook (and eat!) a delicious meal with friends, complete with wine Complete 1 quest: Guilt-free "me time" day Please feel free to follow along, cheer me on, and ask about my progress! Cheers, Meaghan

Ballad's Epic Quest [2016] "Rule your mind or it will rule you." Horace Welcome to my epic quest for 2016! For the past few years, I've done my best to choose a theme that guides my actions and decisions throughout the year. The last two years have been heavily structured around stepping outside my comfort zone, gaining knowledge, and cultivating friendships. I want to continue to grow in 2016, but there are some mental blocks that have been holding me back. This year, I plan to consciously focus on building a strong mental foundation for future success. I'll be basing my epic quest around 3 pillars: 1. Mental fortitude 2. Discipline 3. Kindness More to come of the meaning and significance of these pillars. Side Quests "You can accomplish by kindness what you cannot by force." Publilius Syrus I've included examples of potential side quests to tackle during future challenges, each of which is related to a particular pillar. More will be added throughout the year. Mental Fortitude 7-8 hours of sleep/night8 glasses of water/day5 min meditation/day2 cold showers/weekComplete Mark Divine & Ramit Sethi's "Hell Week"Attend a meditation retreat Discipline Arrive everywhere 5-10 min earlyGo to the gym 3 times/weekWake up at 5:30am, 5 days/weekWrite once/dayCook dinner 2 days/weekRead for 10 min before bed, 5 days/weekComplete a "28 days of yoga" challenge100 push-ups challenge Kindness Record 5 things I'm grateful for each dayGive 1 compliment/dayWrite 3 thank you notes/weekEat vegetarian 1 day/week (ex. "Meatless Monday")Be present in conversation I'll be using this page to share updates, record accomplishments, and remind myself of my motivation. Please feel free to follow along, ask questions, and cheer me on! Cheers, Meaghan