Challenge Accepted
Mission Accomplished
By the end of 2021, I knew that 2022 was going to be a year of change. I knew that I wanted to invest in myself. I knew that I wanted to work on compelling projects. I knew that I wanted to train. What I didn’t know is that I wanted to be welcomed with open arms; I wanted to be appreciated; I wanted to be and to feel seen and heard.
Going into 2022, it was always my intention to go on this self-exploration endeavor. I desperately wanted to jump, kick, and flip back into the activities that I’d always felt most myself in. I also intended to start my podcast, even though I had never expected myself to create in that medium.
So – knowing that I wanted to work on myself, and knowing that I thrive in environments with deadlines and positive consequences – it was completely fitting that I found Michelle Khare’s Challenge Accepted Academy program.
Michelle is an accomplished YouTuber most known for her Challenge Accepted series, in which she assumes professional identities and trains intensively as those identities for set periods of time. Regardless of the profession or the duration of the training period, Michelle always ends each episode with a final challenge – a final moment to execute everything she’s learned, to test her ability and her determination.
These Challenge Accepted videos have always resonated with me. I’ve always been drawn to lifelong learning lifestyles and to short periods of intense devotion. Each episode leaves me feeling inspired and motivated to challenge myself, and several of the episodes have honestly given me a little FOMO because many of the challenges feature activities that I’d like to try.
So, after years of observing from the sidelines, when I saw that Michelle had created a version of her program for anyone to take part in, I knew that I wanted to jump in.
Michelle’s Challenge Accepted Academy was structured as a 30-day program. The participants could be anywhere around the world, from any walk of life, and could challenge themselves in any capacity they chose. To guide us in our journey, Michelle created a video series detailing the process she takes in her own Challenge Accepted videos. She also created a book of carefully crafted journaling exercises to accompany us, which she affectionately deemed as our trusty Sidekick.
We were also provided several support systems. We had individual coaching calls on Day 1. We had weekly Zoom check-ins. We had live stretching sessions led by Michelle. We had a WhatsApp group where everyone – including Michelle – could share their progress and could cheer each other on. And we were each assigned a Buddy with a similar goal to befriend, to check in on, and to encourage in our journeys. Throughout the challenge, all of these sources of support proved to be invaluable to me.
Because the CAA required a final challenge that was tangible to some degree and was something over which I had complete control, my original goal was simply to launch my podcast (and the whole Let Me Play endeavor) by the end of the 30 days. But on Day 1, my coach, Nicole Banz, appropriately challenged me to go even further: Nicole challenged me to celebrate my work by throwing myself a party to launch the podcast off into the world.
I was nervously excited about this idea because throwing a party for myself had always seemed so foreign and a bit gross. I also knew that it was likely going to wind up being a virtual party, and it was honestly hard for me to stomach forced Zoom festivities. But, because the Sidekick told me that my challenge should be something that I could achieve and something that scared me a little bit, I had a gut feeling that Nicole was right, and that this party was the way to go. I accepted the new challenge with an open mind.
Admittedly, Nicole was very right. Putting the podcast episodes together came pretty naturally to me. Planning the episodes, recording and editing them together, and even troubleshooting wasn't all that hard. But, at about Day 10, I started feeling discouraged and anxious and an increasing sense of impending doom. And I saw the effects of it – some personal curveballs came my way and upset me, my schedule became a bit erratic and stressed me out, I prioritized paid work over my training, which made me feel like I was neglecting the nurturing work I was trying to do. Then one day, amidst trying my best to spin all of the plates I’d piled on myself, I realized that I was feeling discouraged and anxious and increasingly doomed because I hadn't devoted any time to planning the party.
My overwhelmingness reached a peak on Day 17 when I completed the Reframing Negative Beliefs exercise in the Sidekick. In this exercise, the Sidekick encouraged us to consider our fears and limiting beliefs in regards to our final challenge. We were instructed to create three columns:
Our fears/limiting beliefs about the final challenge
A positive reframing of each fear/limiting belief
An actionable step to take towards conquering each fear
I penned this exercise with a lot of care, listening to some Ghibli piano music as a soothing soundscape. And I found that I felt much better upon its completion. Reading over my writing, I realized: a lot of people have sought advice and reassurance from me – and I have become comfortable with doling logical, objective advice out – but I don’t often take my own advice, at least, not with the same care and sincerity that I tend to give others.
Admiring the progress I had made, I decided to make a video to share my exercise with my wavemates. That's when the tears came.
Reading Column 1 aloud was no problem. I blazed through that like Sonic chasing rings. But reading Column 2 aloud, hearing myself positively reframe each limiting belief, was incredibly comforting and alleviating, as I've never really practiced that sort of reflexive kindness before. It was comforting to vocalize what I wrote to myself. It was comforting to share my thoughts with people who wanted to support me. It was comforting to know that I could be there for me, that I could be my own friend.
Reframing my beliefs also allowed me to reframe how I saw the final challenge. I originally saw the launch party as an important event that would devastate me if not many people came; after positively reframing, I saw it as an opportunity for me to share myself with some of the people who really want to support me in my journey.
From that moment of release on, I felt encouraged, uplifted, and inspired to find a way to celebrate myself that was fun for me and not just another task I had to complete.
After our Day 20 Zoom check-in, I bounced some party ideas around with my sweet buddy, Carol, and I finally felt like my final challenge had direction. I found a gamified meeting platform called Topia to host my party that aligned with my intentions – not only for the podcast but for my whole self-exploration endeavor – and that's when planning the party really pulled itself together and became fun.
With seven days until liftoff, I designed and sent out invitations; I recorded my first intro and outro of my podcast; I created a teaser and a prologue episode for my podcast; I publicly announced my quest; I promoted the launch party. On challenge day, I created and decorated the World of Let Me Play on Topia; I pulled clips from each recorded episode and hid them in the world for my party guests to find; I exported the final version of my first podcast episode and distributed it onto Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and Stitcher; and I let myself be celebrated.
Leading up to showtime, I was anxious. I was scared that I wouldn’t know what to say. I was scared that the guests wouldn’t have fun. I was scared that the platform wouldn’t work. I was scared that I wouldn’t finish decorating in time. It was procrastination at its finest.
But all of those insecurities melted away as I saw the little Topis appearing in the world. I was suddenly surrounded by friends old and new who were excited to see what I was up to and to encourage me in my endeavors. It was easy for me to speak candidly to everyone, and I loved seeing everyone interact in the world and find the little treasures I had hidden. The party was adorable and authentically me, and I came out of it feeling loved and appreciated and warm.
My favorite part, however, was reading the entries in the guest book after the party was done. I almost forgot to create this board for myself, but I’m so glad that I remembered. There’s something about seeing written words of affection that has always pulled at my heartstrings. And, for creating and sharing something so intimate, I’ve never felt more seen, heard, and supported than when reading those words.
Looking back, I wish that I had acknowledged my fears earlier so that I could have leisurely crafted the party instead of rushing to throw it together. But sitting with that impending-doom feeling, reflecting on those limiting beliefs, and finding ways to move forward were instrumental moments of growth.
The following morning, Nicole and Michelle hosted our CAA graduation ceremony. Each CAA participant got a turn to be celebrated by everyone, and each of us was given a quote to carry along with us on our journeys. This quote from Coco Chanel was given to me:
The most courageous act is still to think for yourself. Aloud.
Completely appropriate, I think.
I completed my last exercise in my Sidekick after graduation and had a really good cry as I closed it for the final time. I was proud of myself for all of the emotional work I had done in the past 30 days. I was proud of myself for creating in a new medium. I was proud of myself for reclaiming my voice. I could see how much I had grown, and I could see the potential ahead. These were happy tears.
In retrospect, I'm sure that I could have launched the podcast independently. I'm sure I could have promoted myself a bit. But it would have been very hard for me to have found that opportunity for emotional growth without this program, and I feel much more at peace with myself – and this project is much more meaningful – for me having done that work. At the end of it all, the challenge wasn't "launch the podcast" or "throw the party"; the challenge was "celebrate your worth," and I’m happy to say, that mission is accomplished.
Thank you to Michelle Khare & the Nas Academy team for the CAA program!