On Life Experiments. (And Our Recent Forays Therein)

Oh, friends. April has been BIZZZZZ-y. Busy.

There are lots of things going on in our day-to-day life this month. Things like teen-and-house-sitting while our friends are on vacay and working on a BIG new project I’ll share one day soon. We’ve also intentionally taken breaks in the midst of it all for a little decompression. Not a bad scene for the middle of the desert, huh?

But it’s the host of daily experiments I’m doing this month that is really filling my April hours. Or, specifically, the biggest of the experiments I’m doing. (See #1 below.)

The Dude and I love personal experimentation. It keeps things changing and improving, and has a glorious “what if” element to it. What if I baked homemade bread every weekend for a month? What if we didn’t watch TV on weekdays? What if I committed to read 50 books this year? Or, as the Dude ventured in college, “What if I ate only cereal for a whole week?”

Ew.

But I believe life experiments can go a long way to changing our lives. We learn new things, build new habits, and get a chance to experience the world a little differently than we have before. Those experiences can dramatically change our outlook on the future, our attitudes, and what we think is possible. All good things, in my book.

This month I’m engaging a small gaggle of experiments. I didn’t do it on purpose, but one seemed like a good idea, and then the next and then another, and now… well… a gaggle. So I thought I’d share and see if you’ve experimented with any of them or have any tips. Or comments. Or emotional rants about me being completely off my rocker. You know, whatever really.

Here are my current daily experiments:

1) Whole30

Being the most invasive, this one earns the top spot on the list. I first heard of Whole30 last month when Tsh at SimpleMom began sharing breakfast pictures on Instagram with the Whole30 hashtag. I started following the breadcrumbs (figuratively, as there is zero bread in whole30 :-(), and began reading about it. Turns out there’s a lot to read. (Just curious – Am I the only one who finds public forums obnoxious?)

Anyway, Whole30 is a 30-day health experiment where you cut out everything that even comes close to possibly triggering unhealthy responses in your body, and give your body a chance to heal itself from its less-than-optimal cycles. The testimonials are pretty insane but I’m waiting to see if lives up to the hype.

As of today I’m halfway in and my clothes are fitting correctly again. For now, that’s good enough for me! So far the limited food choices aren’t bothering me (we have limited food choices out here every day of the year), but the endless food prep is another story. I don’t usually prepare food for 3 meals a day, and this month I am. Did I mention April has felt really busy? (No further comment; see #4 :-))

2) Yoga Every Day

When I decided to do the Whole30, I thought I’d do yoga each day too. Even five minutes would count, just enough to get my body moving and loosen me up a bit. Even with such a loose definition of “Yoga Every Day,” I’ve only done it about half the days.

Oops.

3) Washing My Face With Oil

You read that right. I’m washing my face with oil. I’ve read about this one before, but when Tsh recapped her beauty regimine last month, it got me interested again. (I swear I read more blogs than just SimpleMom. I think she must just be a fellow experimenter-at-heart.)

When I recently found castor oil in a distant city, I finally got started. It’s been two weeks, and I think I’m converted. I love the idea of buying less “product.” And I love love LOVE not getting soap in my eyes. My skin seems just as “clean,” but is a bit less dry. (Of course, that could be the Whole30 talking.) For now, I have no plans to return to cleanser any time soon. (Excepting Origin’s Modern Friction, one of my very very faves.)

4) No Complaining

On top of all this, I’m trying to go complaint-free for 30 days. As this overlaps exactly with my whole 30, I can’t gripe about *insert myriad challenging whole30 experiences here*, even on the blog.

Lovely timing, that.

Of course, I failed the very first day when, in a period of about five minutes, I discovered several of my just-purchased-yesterday grocery items had gone bad, the cumulative value leaving me empty-handed for a Whole30-compliant dinner.

I may have yelled out loud about that. (Whereupon I realized how very much I love the yelling the word “REALLY!!??” out loud. Such catharsis.)

Since then, I’ve yelled said phrase on the road a few times at drivers attempting to kill me with their cars. Whether I’m complaining or fearing for my life is uncertain, but it’s likely the former.

I’m only two weeks in, but I’m beginning to see the shared characteristics of my common complaints, and how, though I have decent self-discipline with keeping my mouth shut these days, a good bit of complaint still escapes through my quite-theatrical facial expressions. Which are no less toxic.

See? This is why I love life experiments; you get to learn about yourself and improve your life! Not all the learning is fun, nor all the experiments easy, but it’s good for me. And good for the people who have to live with me.

This month I’m learning that biting off big experiments alongside a major personal project is not the way to go…

I’m curious…

Are you one for personal experimentation? What have you tried and learned lately?