30-Day Challenges: For Health, Happiness, & More

By Justine Saavedra, M.S.
​Reviewed by Tchiki Davis, M.A., Ph.D.
Discover how 30-Day challenges can jump-start healthier habits. Find 30-Day challenges for mental health, working out, kindness, and more.
*This page may include affiliate links; that means we earn from qualifying purchases of products.
Do you feel like you are stuck in a rut? Would you like a boost of motivation to help drive you toward your goals? Sometimes it can be difficult to even know where to start when you want to make a change. A 30-day challenge might just be the answer. Committing to a 30-day challenge can help you get focused on your goals by making small, sustainable changes. 
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What Are 30-Day Challenges? (A Definition)

The definition of a challenge is “a stimulating task or problem” or “an invitation to compete in sport” (Merriam-Webster, n.d.). Challenges often involve competing against other people but it is also possible to challenge yourself. When you challenge yourself, you give yourself a chance to learn and grow beyond where you currently are. 30-Day Challenges are the perfect way to switch up your routine and integrate better habits into your lifestyle. It’s a simple idea–for 30 days straight, you either focus on adding better habits to your routine or removing habits that are detrimental to your growth. Keep reading to find 30-Day challenges to help you reclaim control over your life. ​

Video: 30 Days Challenge by Earl Nightingale

30-Day Workout Challenges (Abs, Squats, Etc...)

Completing a 30-Day workout challenge can help you become more consistent in taking care of your physical health. Try aiming for challenges that align with your health goals. Focusing on yoga can help with your flexibility, running can help with cardiovascular health, and so on. If you are new to working out, you might want to try a variety of challenges to figure out the type of exercise you enjoy the most. A 30-Day challenge can also help invigorate your enthusiasm for exercising if you are bored with your current routine.

Youtube is a great resource to find challenges that you can follow along with. The following links will take you to a playlist with 30 videos you can follow along with. 
​You can also focus on exercises that target an area of your body that you would like to strengthen. Consider the following challenges that get progressively more difficult to build muscle endurance and strength. 

Ab Challenge​
Day 1-5: 20 crunches; 10 sit-ups per day
Day 6-10: 25 crunches; 15 sit-ups per day
Day 11-15: 30 crunches; 20 sit-ups per day
Day 16-20: 35 crunches; 25 sit-ups per day
Day 21-25: 40 crunches; 30 sit-ups per day
Day 26-30: 45 crunches; 35 sit-ups per day

Squat Challenge
Day 1-5: 25 squats per day
Day 6-10: 30 squats per day
Day 11-15: 35 squats per day
Day 16-20: 40 squats per day
Day 21-25: 45 squats per day
Day 26-30: 50 squats per day

30-Day Challenges for Dieting & Weight Loss

You can also utilize a 30-Day challenge to modify your eating habits. If your diet does not make you feel energized and satisfied, it might be time for a change. Consider the following challenges where you can either modify unhealthy habits or build healthy habits for example, by adding wholesome foods into your diet.

No Sugar Challenge
Excess sugar consumption has increased dramatically over the past 20-30 years and has been shown to have several detrimental side effects including obesity, dental decay, cardiovascular disease, diabetes, liver disease, dementia, and depression (Schmidt, 2014) (Hu et al., 2019). Decreasing your sugar consumption is an excellent way to improve your health. 

For 30 days, try cutting out all processed sugar from your diet. This includes sugar-sweetened drinks, cookies, cake, and other sugary foods. Try replacing sugary snacks with naturally sweet foods such as fruit or honey. 

Veggie-A-Day Challenge​
This challenge will help you introduce more wholesome foods into your lifestyle. Eating more vegetables is an easy way to get more nutrients, fiber, and variety in your diet. A good rule of thumb is that for each meal, your plate should be ½ vegetables, ¼ carbohydrates, and ¼ protein. If you are not used to eating that many veggies try adding them to just one meal per day, every day for 30 days, and see if you notice improvements in the way you feel. If you don’t like vegetables, try these recipes specifically designed for picky eaters.

30-Day Challenges for Health

In addition to working out and eating better, there are also other actions you can take to improve your overall health. The following challenges can help you get your sleep, eating, and physical activity in check.

Get Better Sleep​
Getting adequate sleep is an important factor in overall wellness. Try aiming for at least 7-8 hours of sleep per night for 30 days to help improve your mood and energy levels. Some tips for better sleep include meditating before bed, turning off the TV and other screens an hour before bedtime, and avoiding alcohol.

No Fast Food
While fast food is convenient, it is often loaded with lots of extra calories, fat, and salt. Committing to avoiding fast food for 30 days might help improve your health. Meal prepping and having ready-to-go snacks will ensure you don’t turn to fast food due to being unprepared.

Walk 10,000 Steps Per Day
Walking is an easy way to incorporate low-impact physical activity into your routine. Walking 10,000 steps per day for 30 days can jump-start your motivation to work out. Track your steps using wearable technology like a FitBit or Apple Watch or most smartphones now have the ability to track physical activity as well. 

30-Day Challenges for Happiness

Are you feeling blue or down in the dumps? Challenging yourself to invite more happiness and joy into your life can help lift your mood.

Get Into Nature
Going outside is a great way to boost your mood. Make an effort for 30 days to spend at least 20 minutes in nature. If you are busy, taking a lunchtime walk is an excellent opportunity to get some time outside. Even sitting outside to work or read a book can give you a breath of fresh air.

Be Creative
When was the last time you created something just for fun? Whether it is painting, drawing, writing, or any other creative activity, simply allowing yourself to let your emotions out in a creative way can bring you joy. Set aside time every day for 30 days to let out your creative side. Even if it feels silly at first, try not to judge yourself and just let your creativity flow.

30-Day Challenges for Couples

Life can get extremely busy, to the point where you might not be spending as much energy on your relationship as you would like. Consider trying the following challenge to connect more to your partner. 

Phone-Free Quality Time​
Most of us spend a lot of time on our phones. Intentionally getting away from technology to spend quality time with your partner can bring you closer. For 30 days, set aside 10-20 minutes every day to genuinely talk and connect with your partner without technology present. You can go on a walk, play a card game, or do any other activity you enjoy doing together.

30-Day Challenges for Beginners

If you have never done any kind of challenge or competition before, it can be helpful to start with small, incremental changes which are easier to stick to than dramatic shifts in your routine. 

Daily Gratitude
Learning to practice gratitude can help you shift your mindset to see the positive aspects of your life. Try writing down one person, thing, or experience that you are grateful for every day for 30 days. Look back at the end of the challenge to see how much you have to be thankful for.
​
5-Minute Meditation​
Sometimes we avoid committing to a habit because it seems too time-consuming. However, starting small can help you build up to your goals. Even practicing just 5 minutes of mindfulness meditation per day for 30 days can help you develop a consistent routine.

30-Day Challenges for Mental Health

If you are struggling with your mental health, committing to a 30-Day challenge might be helpful. The following exercises can help improve your mood if you have been feeling down.

Daily Journaling
Daily journaling can be helpful for mental health because you can get all of the feelings and thoughts swirling around in your head down on paper. Set aside 10 minutes per day for 30 days to journal, ideally in the morning. Try to let your thoughts flow and write without judging yourself.

Daily Chores
When you are struggling with your mental health, daily activities such as doing dishes and laundry might fall by the wayside. Every day for 30 days, set a timer for 15 minutes and get as many chores done within that time as you can. You would be surprised at how much you can get done in as little as 15 minutes.

Stop Complaining​
Complaining or venting is okay once in a while. However, if you find yourself complaining all of the time, it may be contributing to a negative mindset. For 30 days, if you find yourself complaining, try and shift the narrative to a more positive topic. Evaluate if there is a different point of view that you can look at the situation from that might help you see it in a more positive light.

Video: 5 Rules To Be More Positive | 30-Day Challenge

30-Day Challenges to Change Your Life

Most of the challenges discussed thus far involve small changes to your everyday life. Over time, these small changes can lead to larger ones. However, if you are looking for a dramatic life shift, fast, drastic changes are necessary.

Change It Up​
Are you looking for a total life overhaul? If so, committing to the following activities for 30 days straight can help you make a major life shift.
  • Wake up at 5 AM
  • Exercise for 45 minutes
  • Journal for 15 minutes
  • Meditate for 15 minutes

A major part of this challenge is developing the self-discipline to follow through on the new habits you are developing. Make a promise that you will show up for yourself and stick to it.

Video: A 30-Day Challenge That Can Change Your Life

30-Day Challenges for Kindness

Performing acts of kindness benefit others but it also benefits you as well. Being kind to others can increase positive emotions and decrease negative emotions (Nelson et al., 2016). Consider the following challenge to help spread kindness through the world around you. 

Spread Joy​
Showing kindness to other people is one way to boost your happiness. Every day for 30 days, make an effort to reach out to a loved one to tell them you care. You can also make an effort to compliment and be kind to people like co-workers, friends, and even strangers you encounter in your everyday life.

Daily Affirmations
While showing kindness to other people is important, you should also show compassion to yourself. Daily positive affirmations can help you be kinder to yourself. Try saying positive affirmations out loud to ourself in the mirror for 30 days. These can include phrases like “I am a kind person”, “I am proud of myself”, and “I love myself”.

Other 30-Day Challenge Ideas

Are you still looking for other 30-Day challenge ideas for personal development? Check out the following video for more self-improvement challenge ideas.

Video: 20 Self-Improvement 30-Day Challenge Ideas: Build New Habits

Articles Related to 30-Day Challenges

Want to learn more? Check out these articles:

Books Related to 30-Day Challenges​

If you’d like to keep learning more, here are a few books that you might be interested in.

Final Thoughts on 30-Day Challenges

30-Day Challenges are a fantastic tool to help you get out of a rut and jump-start healthier habits. These challenges can be tailored to any area of your life you want to focus on from physical or mental health to relationships and happiness. Committing to a challenge for 30 straight days can also help strengthen your self-discipline. If you miss a couple of days of the challenge, try to be kind to yourself and jump right back in. Completing a challenge will help you grow and develop as a person.  

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Grow Your Wellness Business Exponentially!

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