75 Hard…Pass
Habits don’t stick over night, and some rules are made to confine.
Image: Style-Ish
It’s said that a habit can take between 18 to 254 days to form, the average being 66. So that’s why, when the clock strikes 00:00 on January 1st, you do not become a new person. The one minute that deciphers one year from another does not transform you. We aren’t in Cinderella.
I guess what I’m trying to say is, the pressure, the new year new me and the fear of failure stems from… well nothing. I love a new start, a new week, a new month, as much as the next person. A Sunday reset and deep clean, an early Monday start with a journal and coffee. But this idea that a person can change overnight doesn’t resonate. It’s physically impossible.
To break bad habits and develop new ones, we must work. Work on who we are, let go of who we were, forgive, forget and most importantly, you need to want it. Let 2025 be the year you work for it, because it certainly isn’t going to be served on a silver platter.
But what does it mean to work on yourself?
A certain trend has returned to our For You Page’s, and I’m sure you’ve seen it too.
“Welcome to day 2 of 75 hard.”
75 hard is a challenge that has grown on TikTok and provides set rules that you must follow for 75 days, obviously. It’s described as a “transformational mental toughness program.” The rules are as follows:
- Follow any nutritional plan designed for your goals, zero alcohol, zero cheat meals.
- Complete two 45 minute work outs every day. One of these must be outdoors.
- Drink 1 gallon of water a day.
- Read 10 pages of an educational or self-improvement book every day.
- Take a progress picture every day.
What do I think? Hard pass. Do what you enjoy. Do what brings you happiness. Do remember to look after your wellbeing.
My nan always used to say that everything is good for you in moderation. I like to live by that.
My main question, how do I take a picture of my mental progress every day? Physical I get, but isn’t this just about how we look, is it? This “mental toughness program” seems focused on how we look.
Creating a lifestyle for 75 days seems an experiment. Once the months have passed, where are you left? Do you go back to your old ways, having worked so hard to try and overwrite them?
The plan also claims to develop “the traits and habits necessary to succeed in life”. Now, let me show you something. I asked 4 of my closest people what it meant to “succeed in life”. They were unaware of why I wanted to know:
Ben Vigrass, 20: “For people around me to be happy and to have family around me, new and old.”
Angela Cordon, 55: “To be happy and healthy.”
Craig Butler, 55: “I think, to have the best relationships with family and friends that you can. To be creative and present through all that life throws at you.”
Madison Cooke, 21: “ To be happy with my own little family and in a position financially to be able to treat myself and my loved ones.”
Not a single quote touches on how they look. And I’m certain every single one of them feels “happy” when they’re eating chocolate.
“I think, to have the best relationships with family and friends that you can. To be creative and present through all that life throws at you.”
As someone who feels good when they look good, I understand the lure of the gym. It’s just important to remember that some rules are made to confine, each body differs from nutritional needs to physical.
I guess what I’m trying to say is, look after YOU. You who may need a few extra weeks to get into the swing of things, you who enjoys a sweet treat with a cuppa at night, you who doesn’t want to go to the gym every evening, because time at home is too important.
Rules only work so far, what works for someone else may have the opposite effect on you.
Work for it, want it and make sure it suits who you are. The first few weeks of new habits can be difficult, but continuing to show up and carrying them through the seasons may well shape and improve your life. Just remember, nothing can be planned, created, and set in stone in 60 seconds on one cold December evening.
Happy New Year, here’s to listening to our bodies xx
Written by Isabel Butler