A few weeks ago my boyfriend convinced me to take part in a challenge. The 75 hard challenge. This challenge has grown popular on social media as a test of mental toughness. As someone who is nearly 3 weeks in, I can definitely confirm this to be true. Though some days it makes you want to quit, this challenge has made me feel so much stronger and more confident. And I'm not even halfway through! With that said, I want to share 3 reasons why you should also take part in this challenge.

1. Improve your time management

The 75 hard challenge requires you to complete 5 tasks everyday for 75 days. These tasks include:

1) Drinking a gallon of water (I adjusted to ½ a gallon)

2) Doing two 45 minute workouts, one has to be outside

3) Following a diet that works for you (my diet just consists of hitting a certain protein goal everyday)

4) Reading 10 pages of a book

5) Taking a daily progress picture

Completing these tasks everyday definitely requires good time management. As someone who needed improvement in this field, this challenge has forced me to be organized with my time and plan my days. Otherwise, with work, school, and maintaining a social life, all of these tasks simply would not get done.

2. Gain healthy habits

As you can see from the list of tasks required above, this challenge gets you into the habit of staying healthy. Both with your mind and body. Because you are doing these tasks everyday for 75 days, you’re able to develop or fully form new habits. Regularly exercising, eating well, staying hydrated, and reading are all things we should be doing for our overall health. But as I'm sure most of you fellow students can relate on, our health is something we often neglect when we get busy with school and life.

3. Boost your self-esteem

Being able to keep up with this challenge and completing all your tasks gives you a daily feeling of accomplishment. Since I started this challenge, I feel so proud of myself every night before I go to bed. Some days it can be really difficult to complete everything, days where you want to just give up. But making it work anyway you can, like reading on your break at work or waking up early to do yoga before you leave the house on a busy day, really makes you believe you can do anything.

With these 3 reasons, I hope you feel encouraged to take part in this challenge. It will be hard, and you will hate it at times, but I promise it will make you physically and mentally stronger. So far, I feel like I have a more positive outlook on the world and I feel more connected with my mind and body then I ever have before.