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Ready to experience a complete transformation in your life? This 30-day glow up challenge might just be the perfect thing for you.
While the words “glow up” are usually associated with looks and physical appearance, it actually extends way beyond that.
A true “glow up”, or “level up” addresses all other areas of your life, and not just your physical looks. It extends to the emotional, financial, and mental aspects as well.
If you’re looking to improve your life for the better, and reach your best self, then I invite you to try this amazing 30-day glow up challenge.
Read on to discover what it is, how it works, and how you can experience a total transformation in just 30 days from now.
We’ve also provided a free checklist and printable to help you track your progress along the way.
Let’s dive in.
What’s In This 30-Day Glow Up Challenge
This 30-day glow up challenge consists of 30 tasks you’re going to add to your daily/weekly routine to improve your life.
These simple tasks are aimed at improving your physical, mental, emotional, financial and overall well-being, giving you an all-round glow up.
While this challenge contains 30 tasks, it isn’t necessarily a “one task a day” thing, and there’s no specific hierarchy to this. The point is to try to incorporate these 30 tasks into your lifestyle over the next 30 days.
#1 – Meditate for at least 10 minutes a day
It’s not even a debate. Meditation is literally one of the best things you can do for your mind/mental health. With the clutter of thoughts that go through our mind each moment, one way to calm that raging sea, is through meditation.
Not only does it help you gain better control of your thoughts, it also helps to improve your general focus and awareness, making it easier for you to concentrate on the things that are truly important.
Plus, you don’t need to be a monk or anything to enjoy the many benefits associated with meditation. With just as little as 10 minutes per day, you can reap the benefits of this mental exercise.
#2 – Drink enough water
You’d be surprised at how much simple things like this affect our general well-being. For decades, health experts have been encouraging us to ensure we’re properly hydrated, and there are very good reasons for that.
Water plays an important role in our health, both physically, and mentally. Drinking enough water is linked to a healthier skin, improved digestion and gut health, mental clarity, and much more.
While the specific amount of water you need to drink per day can vary depending on a lot of factors, pretty much everyone agrees it is important that you get enough.
If you’re looking for an all-round glow up, something as simple as drinking enough water is a good place to start.
#3 – Journal
Another positive thing you can do for your mental health is journaling. It basically involves writing down your thoughts, feelings, dreams, fears, aspirations and so on.
Keeping a journal can serve as a healthy way for us to express our emotions, and help us deal with our anxieties, fears, and worries in a more constructive way.
Plus, by writing down how we feel, we can also keep track of the different patterns in our mood/behavior, as well as find out the possible triggers. And all you need is a pen and a book.
#4 – Moisturize your skin
If you’re looking to achieve that perfect radiant glow, then you might want to start by getting a good moisturizer for your skin.
Moisturizing your skin regularly, helps to prevent it from getting too dry, and can also help save you from a number of skin-related issues, like acne, breakouts, inflammation, and so on.
Even if you have an oily skin, moisturizing is still important. Be sure to choose the best types of moisturizers for your specific skin types.
#5 – Create a Budget for the days/weeks ahead
Good finances are also an important part of our overall well-being. And if you’re looking to take better control of your finances, one good place to start, is by creating a budget (and sticking to it).
Budgeting can help you plan your expenses ahead of time, which lets you prioritize the important expenses over the more frivolous ones.
Also, drawing a budget can help you better monitor your spending patterns, and also eventually save money. Which means you’ll get a little more cash in your pocket at the end of the week/month.
Also See: 75 Simple Daily Habits To Improve Your Life For Good
#6 – Get enough sleep
Sleep is another very important factor we tend to overlook. And unfortunately, a lot of us aren’t getting nearly enough of it. And yet, it affects multiple areas of our life, like our health, weight, energy levels, mood, appearance, and more.
Most experts generally recommend getting at least 8 hours of sleep per night. And while this is much easier said than done, it’s still worth saying.
Sleep quality (how well you sleep without distractions or disturbances) is also important. Aim to get both sufficient (enough hours) and quality (peaceful and uninterrupted) sleep.
#7 – Incorporate exercise into your routine
There’s no denying the many benefits of regular physical activity for our bodies and minds. During this 30-day period, try to incorporate exercise into your daily/weekly routine.
You don’t necessarily need to spend hours in the gym to satisfy this criteria. Something as simple as a 30-minute jog in the morning, cycling, dancing (yes), 15-minute HIIT, or even a brisk walk around the block works fine.
It’s usually easier if you pick an exercise you actually enjoy doing. That way, it becomes easier to keep at it, and you’ll be reaping the benefits pretty soon.
#8 – Make A Healthy Smoothie
Whether as a meal preplacement, or a healthy snack, smoothies, especially when made with a combination of different fruits and veggies are a great way to enjoy a boatload of healthy nutrients.
In addition to their many health benefits, they’re also incredibly easy to make, and also easy to incorporate into our daily lives. Here are some incredible smoothie recipes for you to enjoy.
- 13 delicious keto smoothie recipes (perfect for people on low carb/keto diets)
- 20 incredible smoothie bowl recipes to satisfy your cravings
#9 – Read a book
It is said, that the book is an exercise for the mind. That statement is a hundred percent true.
The benefits of reading regularly are too clear to ignore. It can serve as a great way to improve our mind, reduce stress, protect our brain, as well as a number of other important benefits.
Whether it’s a novel, a journal, a magazine, or a newspaper, the fact remains that reading regularly is a great way to level up your mind.
#10 – Take a social media break
Don’t get me wrong. Social media can be a fun and interesting place. But a lot of times, it’s easy to get addicted to the virtual life. And this can lead to increased levels of stress, anxiety and depression.
A good way to reclaim your mental health, is by taking a social media break, or doing a digital detox.
This usually involves either staying away from, or limiting the use social media for a period of time. You’ll certainly notice the difference when you focus more on reality, than a virtual world.
Also See: 8 Toxic Habits You Should Get Rid Of
#11 – Exfoliate your face/skin
Your skin sheds its dead cells from time to time. Sometimes, that process isn’t always as effective, and the unwanted buildup of dead cells can leave your skin looking dull and flaky.
One brilliant way to prevent this buildup, is by exfoliation. It can be done physically (with the help of certain brushes, or face/body scrubs) or chemically (with the help of chemical exfoliants).
Exfoliating your skin regularly will help to keep it looking fresh and supple, and can even help lower your risk of certain skin conditions like acne.
#12 – Don’t forget your sunscreen
Getting an adequate amount of sunlight each day can be beneficial to us. However, overexposure to the sun’s UV rays, especially without adequate protection can have a negative impact on skin health.
That’s where sunscreen comes in. It helps protect your skin from the dangers of excessive UV exposure. In terms of SPF (sun protection factor), you should generally aim for products with at least an SPF of 15 or 30.
#13 – Clean out your living space/reorganize
Let’s be honest. Organization and cleaning are 2 things we often feel too lazy to do. And while they can sometimes seem like a bit of work, the benefits attached to them are pretty evident.
First of all, cleaning your living space regularly helps to rid it of germs, which could potentially make us sick. And it’s not just the physical or health-related aspect. There’s also the mental aspect as well.
There’s something about having a neat and tidy environment that just makes you feel more relaxed, at ease, and ready to handle other important things in our life.
#14 – Create a financial plan
Having a budget, and a financial plan are two similar, but quite different, and also crucial steps in improving our financial well-being.
While budgeting mainly focuses on managing and better spending the money you have on hand, a financial plan gives you an opportunity to bring in more money to the cash flow.
This could be via a good investment, a new side business or hustle, selling some stuff you don’t need, and so on. A successful plan means you’ll be earning more money overall. Who wouldn’t like that?
#15 – Recite positive affirmations
Believe it or not, there’s power in your words. When you say certain things, especially over and over again, your brain takes note of these things and subconsciously starts to work towards them.
That’s where affirmations come in. If there’s an area of your life you’d like to improve, start by writing down, and reciting some positive affirmations in relation to it. Your subconscious will begin to work towards achieving them.
Also See: 30 Positive Daily Affirmations To Boost Your Confidence
#16 – Try a new haircut
We all know that insane confidence boost we get after getting a dope haircut, or after a nice hairdo. It sometimes make you feel like “a whole new person”.
If you’re looking to upgrade your looks, trying out a new hairstyle might help. You never know how good you’ll really look in something until you try it.
#17 – Take yourself out
Self-love is an absolute must-have if you’re looking to improve the quality of your life. One way you could practice this self-love during this 30 day glow up challenge, is by taking yourself out.
A solo journey to a place you love and enjoy is a nice way to have some fun without necessarily depending on, or being influenced by any sort of unwanted external pressure.
Plus, a solo expenditure like that can also help you discover more, and become more in tune with yourself.
You don’t necessarily need to go somewhere expensive when taking yourself out. It could be your local park, a really nice cafe, the museum, or any other place you enjoy. As long as it’s fun.
#18 – Eat less added sugar
While our sweet tooth may be our guilty indulgence, it actually turn out that having too much of the sweet stuff can come with a lot of downsides.
From things like an increased risk of obesity, to inflammation, risk of heart disease, poor skin health and more. Likewise, reducing your added sugar intake comes with a lot of upsides.
During this 30-day glow up challenge, try to reduce the amount of added sugar you consume daily. You’ll certainly notice the difference afterwards, both physically and mentally.
You can also check out our 7-day sugar free detox challenge, which helps you deal with cravings, and improve health overall.
#19 – Create a daily/weekly schedule and follow it
We all have 24 hours in a day. How we choose to spend those hours is completely up to us. Drawing out and following a schedule helps you properly manage your time, and spend it on things that are productive and beneficial to yourself and your wellbeing.
Plus, there’s no denying the good feeling you’ll get when you know you made the most of your time, and spent it doing something productive and beneficial.
#20 – Do something nice for someone
Sometimes putting a smile on someone’s face is all you need to put a smile on yours. That’s the power of kindness.
During this 30-day challenge, try to do something nice for someone. It could be a close friend, or even a complete stranger. It’s truly the little things that count, and you’ll feel better overall.
Also See: 50 Awesome Self-Care Activities You Need To Try
#21 – Get rid of negative self-talk
A lot of the times, the one thing that holds us back isn’t our situation, or any other external factor we perceive. No, it’s often ourselves. And I think we can all agree that all that negative self-talk has to go.
Rather than letting that annoying voice at the back of your head tell you what you’re capable of, try to focus on more positive self-talk that recognizes the complete badass that you are. You’re really way more awesome than you think (wink wink).
#22 – Express gratitude
They say if you look for a reason to be sad, you’ll always find one. Similarly, if you look for a reason to be happy, you’ll also always find one.
No matter what happens, there’s always something to be grateful for. And by expressing gratitude for the things you currently have, you’ll begin to see life in a new and positive light.
#23 – Create a vision board
The first step to achieving anything you want, is to clearly visualize it. That’s where your vision board comes in.
Whatever goals you plan to achieve in the coming weeks, months or years, simply add them to your vision board. It’ll serve as a subtle reminder and motivator to help you work towards your goals.
#24 – Use proper skin-care products
There’s no one-size-fits-all approach when it comes to proper skin care. Just as our bodies are different, the ideal skin-care products may also vary from person to person.
Before you invest in any product, try to ensure it’s the best option for your specific skin type. This will ensure your skin gets the adequate care it requires, and without any unnecessary side effects.
#25 – Practice good dental hygiene
That beautiful smile of yours is part of what makes you so wonderful, and that’s why you need to take proper care of it.
Practicing good dental hygiene, like brushing your teeth regularly (twice a day), flossing, and other healthy oral habits, will help you maintain and improve that wonderful smile.
Your dental health is also an important part of your overall health, so don’t ignore it.
Also See: 8 Simple Tips To Help You Beat Procrastination
#26 – Eat more whole foods
The type of food you eat has a huge impact on both your body and mind. If you’re looking to upgrade your quality of life, you may want to start by upgrading the quality of food on your plate.
Rich whole foods, like fruits, veggies, healthy fats, nuts, seeds, grains and so on are generally what you should be targeting. They’ll help provide your body with all the essential nutrients it needs to look good and healthy, and function properly.
#27 – Switch up your makeup routine
Have you been stuck following the same makeup routine for a while now? Then it may be time for a change. Trying out a new makeup routine may help you discover a new, much cooler look you didn’t even know you were capable of.
Also, switching things up doesn’t necessarily mean you have to do more. Sometimes, a little less makeup is actually what you need to achieve the glow up you desire. Don’t be afraid to experiment and test things out.
#28 – Learn something new
We’re never too old or too knowledgeable to learn new things. Not only does learning expand and broaden our mind, it also makes us better prepared to handle certain types of situations in the future.
It could be a craft/skill, a new subject or language, an instrument and so on. Any new knowledge acquired is a positive step towards improving the quality of our lives.
#29 – Avoid toxic people
Sometimes, the reason we can’t be at our best, is because of the kind of people we’re surrounded by. Toxic and negative people always end up pulling down those around them.
If you’re looking to improve your life for the better, then putting a barrier between you and that kind of toxicity is a good place to start. You’ll see a clear difference in your life afterwards.
#30 – Consume inspirational content
Inspiration is like the fuel that magnifies the fire for our our dreams. Getting a steady flow of inspiration can be a great way to keep you focused on your goals.
This could be in the form of an inspirational book, a podcast, a TED talk, and so on. Just remember to keep the flame going.
