The Challenge Is Set

The new year approaches, and I am preparing for my hardest challenge yet. It shall henceforth be dubbed the ONE MONTH CHALLENGE™, but before I get ahead of myself, I should start from the beginning.

The idea for this blog started during a moment of inspiration. Inspiration to improve at the extraordinary game of Go. (also called Baduk and Weiqi depending on where you are from) Having recently started playing again after a long hiatus, I delved into the game deeper than ever before, with an agenda to improve. During my Go splurge I happened upon another blog by a person that goes by the internet alias of ChiyoDad. Having just started learning about the game, ChiyoDad created a blog to map and share his progress. Reading the blog further revealed an extremely charming, dedicated person with whom I took immediate adoration towards. This could be me, I thought, now plowing through each and every post like a page in a book that had to be read.

Reading through ChiyoDad's blog brought up a lot of concerns for me. Namely the fact that I had spent little to no time doing anything productive for, as far as I can remember, the last 2 years. Living in a microcosm of video games, unhealthy foods, extremely little exercise, and procrastination. I was so ingrained in my own little world I had forgotten that time was passing outside of it, and that, no, I was not headed towards the life I wanted to lead. Somehow I managed to be aware of my stagnation, yet still I procrastinated, letting moments of inspiration slip me by, taking in all of the excitement but taking no steps to utilize it.

Almost half way through ChiyoDad's blog, and things suddenly clicked together in my head like never before. I felt the excitement of change come over me, but this time in a different way, a more relaxed, patient kind of way. My eagerness to improve myself had soon become infectious, as I soon began enlisting a support group of sorts. People in the same situation as me that I could learn and improve with. Someone to hold me up when I fall down, someone to root for and in turn give myself a standard to beat. A simple proposition to my good friend, Dr. Light, to pick up the game of Go and learn along side me quickly developed into intense discussion of the future, of self improvement and of an almost immediate need for action. The inspiration bug had been transferred, and the ONE MONTH CHALLENGE™ was born.

Starting January 1st, 2008, I will post on this blog every day for an entire month, detailing my efforts. For every day I will attempt to improve myself in multiple faculties including but not limited to: Physical fitness, drawing ability, game design and creation, writing ability (blog), music creation (computer) and playing (piano), and of course the deep and life changing game of Go.

This is a revolution.