My secret 30 day challenge and my new challenge: ukulele!

Last month I did a secret 30 day challenge: everyday I did something nice for my wife. It could be surprising her with flowers, doing some chore around the house without her asking, or just trying to be present and focused when she wanted to talk. This challenge turned out really well.

At first, I thought of writing down the nice thing I did each day, like when I tracked my “month of kindness” challenge. But instead, I found myself adopting an attitude of trying to be more supportive throughout the day. My wife noticed the change in my behavior and remarked on it mid-month, so I guess I still had some room to be a better husband. 🙂

If you’re married, you should definitely consider this challenge. I was a little worried that when I revealed my challenge, my wife would feel like I’d been deceiving her or holding something back, but she was just happy that I’d been doing thoughtful things for her this month.

Okay, so what’s up for the month of October? I’m going a little more light-hearted. My wife got me a ukulele a couple months ago, and I’m going to try to play the ukulele each day. The ukulele is a great instrument because you can’t take yourself too seriously playing a ukulele. It’s a very low-pressure instrument.

I’ve never had much musical training, so I’m complete beginner. Don’t expect me to upload any YouTube videos or perform in public. I’m just having fun with it, which is exactly what you should do with a ukulele. Here’s a little video to get your day started:



If you want to join me in a 30 day challenge, just pick out something you’ve always wanted to try and give it a go!

13 Responses to My secret 30 day challenge and my new challenge: ukulele! (Leave a comment)

  1. If you want some encouragement (or discouragement, depending on your personality), check out the wonderful Jake Shimabukuro – now that is ukulele playing.

  2. Good one! Music is for everyone. Here’s some ukelele inspiration from Steve Martin – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AI8NuFAETMQ where you can combine last month & this month.

    btw – Steve Martin is seriously a great banjo player. Check out his performance at the Grand Ole Opry

  3. You need to take a trip to Hawaii so you can really see how to play that 😉

  4. Wait, if I am nicer to my wife for 30 days what happens when I go back to being a regular husband? 🙂

  5. If you need more inspiration, check out Amanda Palmer’s Ukulele anthem

  6. Hi Matt – tis serendipity I tells thee – I’m writing an article for iamstaggered.com at the moment about good advice for married men and I wanted to include something on a Boot Camp style project. Any chance I could bung you a couple of qs about your 30 days of better behaviour?

  7. Did your wife know you were doing a 30 day challenge?

    Have you seen that 8 yr old boy playing Soul Sister on the uke? I wanna see you do that, Matt. Good luck!
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TruIq5IxuiU

  8. Hey Matt : your last post have at least one big merit… Since now, I have discovered a new very original team of musicians.. In France, these “ukelele” great musicians are not very well know !
    Maybe I can suggest a new 30 day challenge : make us discover unknows and originals musicians group ! hahahaaha
    Merci Matt .. je ne connaissais pas !

  9. Love a good uke. Heres something i think is a bit special http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J5qakFIecBU

  10. Loved the vid. Made my day. Oh, and yes, we do indeed expect to see a youtube vid next month of you playing. 🙂 good luck.

  11. Do u ever hold a grudge? I don’t but noone’s the same. I think everyone should take a 30 day let go of grudges challenge. Its good for the soul.

  12. I am just starting out on my challenge of “hold no grudges” and I can tell you its a relief. No pent up anger, no “revenge is a dish served cold”. Its awesome. Love your enemy cos that will really piss them off!

  13. Paul Rademacher

    Hey Matt, here’s one of my favorite ukulele tabs: “You’ve Got a Friend in Me”. Super easy, fun to sing, and sounds great. http://www.alligatorboogaloo.com/uke/tabs/070128.html

    The chords in “But none of them…” are tricky, but you can just play every other one and it sounds fine.

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