Monday Matchstick Challenge #6
Sparking a sense of adventure in everyday life
Hi, I’m Holly - coach, mindfulness facilitator and author of Zestful Zen. As well as this weekly adventure challenge, I write about self-care, personal growth, mindfulness, and purpose. If you like life to be full of zest and energy, complemented by a zen, calm mind, Zestful Zen is the community for you! Join us now. ✨
Hi friends, I hope you all had a fabulous weekend (still going for US friends celebrating Labor Day!) It’s been gloriously hot and sunny in Belgium, and I made the most of it by getting outdoors. 🌞
So I knew last week’s Monday Matchstick Challenge was going to be perfect for me!
Our challenge was:
Take a hike on a new trail 🥾
How did you get on with the challenge?
Humping over sand dunes
I walk lots in my giant local woodland, Bois de la Cambre, and when I’ve got time I hike the extended reserve, Forêt de Soignes, which stretches from Brussels, through Flanders, to Wallonia.
The forest is peaceful, has lovely trails and is easily accessible.
And yet, I’ve explored it so much that I didn’t feel like taking a different path there would really be within the spirit of our adventure challenge! So I figured I’d head somewhere north of Brussels instead.
But Lady Luck was thinking farther afield… 🧭
Serendipitously, a friend mentioned mid-week that there was an annual Brussels Hiking Group Coastal Hike Challenge happening that very weekend. WIN! ✅
The challenge was to walk up to 80 km over nearly 24 hours, starting at 10:00 on Saturday and finishing by 05:00 Sunday. 80 km sounded a bit eeeek and stumbling around in the dark with jellified legs at 3am isn’t quite my bag.
BUT, the organisers were aiming to be inclusive and it turned out you could peel off from the group at almost any point during day time (there’s a tramline not too far from the trail). DOUBLE WIN! ✅
I wasn’t convinced I could get up at 5:30 on a Saturday, but with the incentive of joining three friends, to my surprise I actually woke up before my alarm. ⏰
We had a great day together, managed about 25km before peeling off to enjoy some beach time. (One intrepid friend carried on another couple of hours, bravo him).
My Challenge Takeaways
I learned a few things from this adventure:
I need to carpe diem my life more and not miss opportunities over laziness (my friends had to convince me I could get up that early) - it’s always worth the effort.
Trying new things is a great way to meet people. 50+ hikers joined us and plenty were happy to chat along the route.
Sand dunes make for an awesome booty workout 😆
I should get my ass in gear and see more of Belgium before I leave in May (embarrassingly, this was my first time at the coast!)
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ How about you? Did you try a new trail? Any lessons from your challenge?
💬 Share your takeaways in the comments. ⤵️
This Week’s Challenge
This week’s Monday Matchstick Challenge is:
Have someone teach you something you don’t know how to do
I’m curious to see where this one takes me. Maybe an obvious learning opportunity will pop up, or I might have to be more conscious in seeking it out.
Either way, I love learning, so I’m sure I’ll enjoy this one. 😁
⭐️ Join the challenge and share your experience in the comments. 👇
I can’t wait to hear about your Sparked Adventures!
Have a magical Monday 🪄✨
What is the Monday Matchstick Challenge?
The idea is to have some fun together trying new/random things.
Every week, I select a faux matchstick at random from the game Spark Adventure – 50 Ways to Explore and Discover, and post it to Substack.
I try to deliver on the challenge by the end of the week, sharing my attempts/the outcome with you here.
Fellow Substackers also dive in, have a go and share their anecdotes.
If you’re new to the Monday Matchstick Challenge:
You can read about the genesis for the challenge here: Monday Matchstick Challenge #1.
Previous Monday Matchstick Challenge posts are available on the Zestful Zen homepage, if you’d like to have a go at igniting your sense of adventure in everyday life!
If you enjoyed this post, it would mean the world to me if you’d comment, hit the heart button, share with others, or subscribe to Zestful Zen for free! Thank you lovely people ✨
Maybe set the intention, pick a book at random and find a word which resonates then find something you can learn relating to that word?
Oh I am already on top of this one - I am getting some lessons on floral arrangement from a pro. She makes unusual arrangements with unusual flowers. I volunteered to help set up flowers at 3 weddings this last weekend and got a ton of flowers out of it, but once I got them home, I realize I really don't even know the basics of how to properly arrange flowers, so she offered to teach me!