March 1st marked the end of the 30-Day Sugar Free Challenge.  And I made it!  30 days without any sugar - no ice cream, chocolate or donuts!

It feels good to be at the finish-line with accomplishment in-hand.  30 days without sugar was a significant challenge for me.  It's been a while since I've taken on a challenge like this.  Be it a cleanse or taking up running or creating a new habit in my life.  In the past, I've enjoyed taking on such challenges and have always found them worthwhile and rewarding.  Challenging myself regularly and working on personal development let's me continue to grow and evolve constantly.

Mind Frick

A mind frick is when your mind over-exaggerates to create a monster out of something this is not really scary.  Usually a mind frick will stop you from taking some action or pursuing a goal or doing something else important. 

Mind Frick was all over the 30 day sugar free challenge.

Before I got started, I thought this was going to be much much much harder than it turned out to be.  I was gravely concerned that not eating sugar while on vacation was going to ruin the whole trip.  I thought I was going to have cravings that would leave me in a cold-sweat, leading to profound moodiness.

Did any of that happen? 

Nope.

It was all a mind frick.

Once I got started on not eating sugar, I quickly found good alternative foods that I could eat if I had a craving.  On vacation, I was so focused on our new environment and exploring the beauty of Hawaii that most days I forgot I had undertaken this cruel challenge (not that I indulged in sweets, I just didn't focus a lot of attention on the fact that I was not eating sugar).  And a few cravings were challenging, but most came and went effortlessly like the tides.

It's easy to get caught in a mind frick and, in fact, it probably happens every day.  For me the key is to just Begin.  Just get started and see how it goes.  Mind frick can dissolve easily on you get started.

Conscious Eating

My goal for going sugar-free was to become more conscious of my eating choices.  In the past, when I had a craving for sugary snack, I would go hunting, mindlessly.  Now, with 30 days of practice under my belt, I can make better choices when that craving comes up. 

For me, being more conscious in anything I do will benefit me greatly.  In many spiritual practices, the goal of becoming 100% conscious and in-the-moment means becoming the master of your body and environment and being immune to any pressures these inflict on us.  It means being in harmony and totally at peace.  Having accomplished this challenge, I feel I'm just a little bit closer to that reality.

2 lbs. of Sugar

The average North American consumes 24 lbs. of sugar per year.  If that is true, then I have just forgone 1/12th of that total. 

That means, I missed out on 2 lbs. of sugar over 30 days!  Whoa! That's a lot!

That's an accomplishment I'm happy with.

Your Turn

Do you ever experience Mind Frick?  How do you deal with it?  Are you happy with your own sugar intake in 2009?  Would you consider taking this challenge?