Hi there!  I’m Courtney.  A week ago, I did a thing.  But really, that thing was just the beginning of something much bigger – a personal journey.

One week ago, I returned from a conference where the theme was “The Innovation of You”.  This conference had me thinking:  How do I become better?  How do I help others become better?  What is next for me?  Hang with me here for a little background…

In my current professional role, I promote change.  I’m a change agent, a change advocate and a change manager.  Which I really enjoy.  In order to grow, develop and innovate, change is required.  So I get to encourage and promote others to want to be better.  I myself am rarely responsible for making a change in my work – my job is to identify an opportunity in other people’s work and then assist them in making their change.  I’ll let you use your imagination to think about just how well that is received at times.  Because here’s the thing, CHANGE IS UNCOMFORTABLE.  And change is incredibly personal.

So as I’m reflecting on the wealth of knowledge I was given at the conference, about change – and more specifically my role in change, it hit me.  I need to challenge myself more often to be uncomfortable.  If I can’t empathize with others as they journey through the discomfort, who am I to say “it’ll be better!!”.  I don’t actually know if that is true.  Sure, I’ve changed things in my life.  But how intentional have I been about putting myself in an uncomfortable situation on purpose – regularly (confession: I haven’t been).

So one week ago, the day after I returned from my conference, I cut off over 5 inches of my hair (this was the “thing” I was talking about).  But more importantly, I got intentionally uncomfortable.  And you know what?  I survived!  So I’ve decided that I am starting a “Change Challenge” (this is the personal journey I was talking about).  Here’s the ground rules:

1. Every day for the first two weeks I am required to make one change in my life – Bonus points if I accomplish more than one!
2. After two weeks, I need to make 2 changes every day
3. The challenge will last for 4 weeks (28 days)
4. I must journal my change to reflect on the challenges, thoughts and emotions that I experienced.

Pretty simple right?!

Not at all – I am one week in and I will say it has already been difficult.  Although, I’m not sure I would have expected anything different – after all I did call it a change challenge.  But I will also say, that what I have already learned has been enlightening.  So, here is your formal invitation to follow along with me on my journey.  I’ll be posting about the lesson’s I’ve learned, the “A ha” moments I’ve had, and the challenges that present when dealing with change.

I encourage you to start your own journey and participate  – just make sure you drop a comment and let me know how it’s going for you!  I’ll be posting content to help guide you along the way.

Before

After