Written by Ana Elefterescu
As students, one of the greatest challenges we face is maintaining self-care while striving for academic excellence. Our days revolve around uni and it often feels like everything else we want to achieve has to be squeezed into the tiny gaps in our schedules.
Recently, I began to feel like I was losing my grip on the areas of my life that make me feel well rounded and whole. That’s when I decided to take on the 75 Hard challenge.
Our lectures are scheduled, our classes compulsory, and exams seem to pop up faster than a YouTube ad. They’re all non negotiable stepping stones as we inch closer to our dreams. But we’re more than just study machines cranking out grades. We’re humans and we’re complex, we need more than a piece of paper with our name on it to feel alive.
Getting uni work done, while necessary, started to feel like the bare minimum to me. Enter: 75 Hard. This challenge was my way of reclaiming a sense of discipline outside of academia, of proving to myself that I’m made for more and reminding me that I am so much more than just a student.
75 Hard is exactly what it sounds like—hard. For 75 days, you’re challenging yourself with a few rules that might just change your life. Even though the official guidelines may seem daunting, the beauty of this challenge is that you are in control. You get to define your own rules within the framework. The diet you follow, the exercises you do, the book you read—all of these are your choices.
You have all the power, all the autonomy; 75 Hard simply provides the direction and the assurance that these sacrifices are worth the effort.
The 75 Hard Guidelines:
• Drink 4.5L of Water Every Day ( I used this drink bottle)
• Read 10 Pages Daily (I used my kindle for reading)
• Two Daily 45-Minute Workouts (one must be outdoors)
• Follow a Diet:
o Your Diet Rules: You set the specific rules, but the guidelines are to eat only healthy food, with no cheat meals, and no alcohol.
Click here for the drink bottle I used.
Click here for the kindle!
Why I Chose the 75 Hard Challenge
Before I began the challenge, I wrote down the reasons why I wanted to do it. This list became my motivation when things got tough:
• Re-establish discipline in my life.
• Reach a new level of health excellence.
• Address the feeling of neglecting my body and the mental fog that was creeping in.
• Prove to myself that I can stick to something difficult.
• Learn to hold myself accountable for the commitments I make.
• Regain a sense of consistency and routine outside the academic sphere.
• Challenge my negative self-beliefs and prove that I am capable.
The 75 Hard challenge was my way of taking back control. It was a commitment to myself—a promise that I am more than just a grade on a transcript. I am a whole person with the potential to achieve greatness in every area of my life. If you’re feeling like you’re stuck in a rut or losing your sense of self, maybe it’s time to challenge yourself too—because we are made for more.
Click here to go to a helpful planner so you can keep track of the challenge. You can download the pdf and use it to tick of your daily achievements.
Charlie blog is a SSAF funded initiative
