“Movember = No Shave November” is the mainstream way, but at the hotel where I worked, there was a movement called “NO NOVEMBER”.
It means giving up something for the month of November. With some vegetarian friends around me, I always wondered what it was like to be a vegetarian.
Why not take this opportunity to become a vegetarian for a month to find out what it's like! So my "No Meat, November". challenge started.
As someone who loves meat, to be honest, somewhere in my heart, I thought, "Well, it probably won't last."
There are some things I learned from this one-month vegetarian experience, so I will share.
1) The power of belief is amazing.
The number one reason why I succeeded in No Meat challenge was not to avoid seeing meat, not to be with friends who eat meat, or to interact with animals. It was having made it a habit to say, "I don't eat meat."
It's a strange story, but when I finished it, I didn't feel so bad. Every day, when it's time to eat, there were many delicious-looking meats lined up, but I told myself, "I'm a vegetarian." I filled the plate first with vegetables and potatoes. In the beginning, I was doing it intentionally, but in the later stages, I was doing it unconsciously.
Come to think of it, I've read in the Dalai Lama's book that happiness doesn't come from the outside, it seems to come from within. Because no matter where you are or what you're doing, unhappy people are unhappy, and happy people are happy.
It seems that happy people always tell themselves that they are happy. On a similar note, "I am a vegetarian!" As I kept telling myself that, I became a vegetarian without any stress. The belief is amazing. . .
2) Liven up the challenge and have fun.
On the day I decided to do No Meat, November, I posted a challenge declaration on Instagram. The next day, many people had already found out about my challenge, and gave me encouraging words such as "Do your best without meat" (I also got some teasing words too haha)
Also, a lot of people became curious why I was not eating meat. (which was normally the main dish) This gave me some opportunities to talk with some people who I didn't usually talk with.
I would highly recommend to make some challenge declaration post on SNS, you get not only social
3)No tangible physical change but...
I thought that there would be no change in one month, but I secretly hoped that I could see some physical changes. After all, there were no noticeable changes in my body.
But, it's true that I've come to enjoy vegetables. Surprisingly, now I like the crunchy texture and the color when served on a plate.
As a conclusion, this experience made me realise "It always seems impossible until it's done." (Nelson Mandela said that too,)
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