How trying a new thing everyday helped reduce my anxiety and taught me to live intentionally

I really love 30 day challenges and after my April challenge of getting rid of an additional item everyday for 30 days I wanted to do another one for the month of May. I was really sick of the hermit phase I was in after our move to Austin and found myself getting anxious for nearly everything. I was literally filled with anxiety about the thought of picking out a new movie to watch. I figured this challenge might act as a sort of exposure therapy and get me out of the horrible rut I was in.

DAY 1: Watched a new movie (Spencer) instead of re-watching Gilmore Girls for the millionth time.
DAY 2: Went to cosmic coffee. This place was amazing and I will definitely be back.
DAY 3: Tried a new beer - Sea Quench Ale.
DAY 4: Painted a mural in my kitchen.
DAY 5: Went to Ladybird Johnson Wildflower Center.
DAY 6: Tried a new product - the Ordinary AHA BHA mask.
DAY 7: Tried a new beer - Blue Owl Brewing, Cool & the Gang Sour Beer w/ Earl Grey & pool time with new friends.
DAY 8: Went on a new walking route with the dogs- brought them to a softball field at a high school nearby.
DAY 9: Went to a new movie theater by myself and saw the new Fantastic Beast movie.
DAY 10: Tried sugar waxing - a lot of regret here. This was awful!
DAY 11: Tried snacks from the German food section at HEB. Lakerol Raspberry Lemongrass pastilles and Manner Vanilla Wafer Cookies. Both were bad.
DAY 12: Made an appliqué piece for the first time for a baby quilt.
DAY 13: This is not a new thing but I am counting it because I can’t remember the last time I did this. I went to a field with the dogs and took my shoes off and walked barefoot in the grass and then laid down and watched the clouds pass. It was fucking glorious and you should do it on a nice day as well.
DAY 14: Tried a new product - Glow Boldly mask. I didn’t like this one and wouldn’t use it again.
DAY 15: Bought a new product for us and the dogs- Ruffwear car seat cover. This is kind of a lame/practical new thing but I will not buy something even if it is convenient in order to save money. This month is all about breaking patterns and trying new things so I am counting this. Also, this cover is amazing!
DAY 16: Hosted a movie night at my apartment. Again this isn’t anything super new but I haven’t done it since pre-covid days. I am also living in a new city so this is the first time I invited any of my newly made friends to my apartment. We watched Twilight and ate pizza and it was awesome.
DAY 17: Tried a new makeup look for a photo shoot. It was really bad and I deleted the TikTok video because the look was so botched. But again, this month is all about TRYING new things and not necessarily nailing them on the first try.
DAY 18: Tried snacks from Asian and German section of HEB. Botan Rice Candy and Milka White and Milk Chocolate Bar.
DAY 19: Tried a new YouTube tutorial on how to play the Ukulele.
DAY 20: Tried overnight heatless curl method using socks. It worked!!
DAY 21: Ordered something new for breakfast. I always get a standard breakfast but instead I got biscuits with sausage and gravy.
DAY 22: Curled my hair using a curling iron that I have never used. Super small pencil curls and I also brushed it out after which was terrifying because I spent so much time on it but it made them so very big and I loved it.
DAY 23: Explored a new neighborhood - east Austin. Ate lunch at Kinda Tropical. Drove home without using GPS. YAY! Also went to an interview on this day.
DAY 24: Tried 9 Rounds kickboxing gym.
DAY 25: Went to a new restaurant for dinner - Elizabeth Street Cafe.
DAY 26: Went to Buffalo Exchange and got lots of new clothes, went to a Golds Gym for the first time with Andy (did the sauna even though I hate it), went with some friends and learned how to play pool at a new bar, then went to Atomic Tattoo and got my nose pierced! Biggest day of the month for new things!!
DAY 27: Something happened but I don’t remember. Normally I take videos of my new thing everyday but on this day there is no video and by the time I went back to post about it on TikTok I completely forgot what happened at any point on this day. Let’s pretend something really cool happened here.
DAY 28: Made waffles using a new recipe and I also tried out my new tripod.
DAY 29: Tried cinnamon dolce latte and lime oat bar from Starbucks.
DAY 30: Went to Ramen Tatsu-Ya and went to the 360 bridge overlook.

These are my closing thoughts after completing the challenge.

Pretty early on I realized two major things about myself. One is that I have a lot of anxiety. I view myself as a pretty spontaneous and ride or die person so it was really surprising for me when I would go somewhere like a new coffee shop and I would be so filled with anxiety I barely wanted to get out of my car. I realized how much my anxiety was driving my actions everyday.

The second thing that came up is my tendency to “save things for later.” This one was really wild to me because I didn’t even realize I did it. It’s the idea of saving something for a better date or for another person but literally with everything: products, experiences, restaurants, foods, etc. I wouldn’t allow myself to experience these things by myself because I was always saving it for later. This challenge made me do all of the things I’ve been wanting to do. No excuses, no saving it for later, just do it. Do the thing you want to everyday.

This challenge truly changed the way I think about myself and my actions. Before this I had a pretty negative attitude about the new city I was in and the way I was feeling about leaving my home behind. But after I intentionally choose every day to put myself in new situations in order to grow and experience life to the fullest my attitude started to shift. Even days where the activity was seemingly mundane it still produced massive results in changing the way I view myself and what I am capable of. I really encourage everyone to try this challenge for themselves. I believe you can do it no matter where you live whether that is a big city or a teeny, tiny town.

I documented everyday on TikTok so if you want to see those videos then check it out @too.many.emilys

SHARING IS CARING: here are some images to pin to Pinterest!