So I have been talking about doing 50 at 50 for over a year and now its time to actually put my money where my mouth is and set about doing some of these challenges. There is a growing realisation that I am going to have to be seriously organised if I'm actually going to achieve 50 challenges in two years - that averages out at almost one every couple of weeks. How on earth am I going to find time to do this when I have a demanding job, a teenager embarking on GCSEs with plenty of out of school commitments and the usual crazy family life? It makes me want to give up before I even start, but that is the whole point. It is time to put some pizzazz back into my life and practice what I preach when I say that anything is possible if you just put your mind to it! So for those of you who haven't a clue what I am talking about and haven't yet visited my website this is what I'm banging on about.... As my friends and family will tell you I am always up for a challenge and have always believed in the power of self-belief; not a cocky arrogance but the belief that if you want to do something you can do it. I don’t give up easily and whilst I’m not a gung ho risk taker I do like adventure and physical tests, for example in 1997 I was part of the first all women’s expedition to the North Pole and I have run the London Marathon in each of the last three decades. However, since getting married, having a son, taking on a challenging job and just generally getting older (& more boring!), I seem to have lost some of that spirit and desire/drive to say yes.
As I approach my 50th birthday I have decided to set myself 50 challenges. The plan is to do all of them over two years – the year leading up to my 50th in September 2020 and the year of my 50th; potentially a little ambitious but I’m going to give it a go! Some of these challenges are on my bucket list and are the classic physical tests that many people set themselves e.g. climbing Kilimanjaro, running the London Marathon (again) and sky diving. However I also want to set myself some challenges that really put me out of my comfort zone. I am by nature a fairly traditional person and not someone who wears wacky clothes, has a tattoo or dyes my hair so some of the suggestions that I’ve been given so far include posing nude for a life class, dying my hair and doing a stand-up routine in a comedy club. All of these scare me witless and I’d far rather run 10 marathons than do a stand-up routine, but that is exactly the reason why I am determined to do as many of these kind of challenges as possible. The final set of challenges I want to set myself are not challenges per se but the kind of activities that I always mean to do but never get round to it because life is just too busy e.g. helping out in the local foodbank, visiting all eight of my godchildren (its all well and good sending birthday and Christmas presents but I want to actually spend time with them all!), planting 50 trees, learning a new skill and so on. There is another very important reason why I want to do these challenges – I want to try to raise as much money as possible for 3 amazing charities. All of them have a particular connection to me and as I found it impossible to choose between them, I have decided to share any monies raised. Please give as generously as you can and don't forget Gift Aid - https://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/victoriahumphries50at50. Thank you! Please take a look at my website and especially the 50 challenges page as I really need your help to come up with a long list of suggestions and to help me complete as many of them as possible. |
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