About
About Me
Hello, I'm Sally!
Originally from south of Manchester, and now an honorary Yorkshire Lass having lived in York for over 20 years.
I like to try new things, love a good new year’s resolution and am a regular runner.
I also love a pun, which I realise will make many people reading this roll their eyes. Brace yourselves, there may be many across the site!
I love learning, and have been able to use that passion in my working life in Learning and Development. From inductions and onboarding, to turning GDPR training into something resembling fun, and managing not to bore people to tears with legal and compliance training. I love interpreting something and helping others to develop through creative learning solutions.
I am a die-hard A-ha fan, (although their single ‘Touchy’ did test the boundaries of my dedication), and I love an adventure – whatever the size.
Overview
What does Challenge Fifty Two include?
From the daft to the daring, the easy to the extreme, and anything in between. It includes everyday adventures that come in all shapes and sizes. These are all experiences that I’ve never tried before, including setting up this site which was a new thing in 2023!
Why do I do it?
Some new things may be everyday experiences that are common place for many people, others more of a step out of the comfort zone taking planning and preparation, but they make me laugh, teach me lots, and introduce me to some incredible people and places. I aim to change the world, by changing my world.
What’s in it for you?
Whether you’ve set yourself a goal to achieve a certain number of things for a big birthday, you’re looking for ideas to step out of you comfort zone, or fancy suggestions to break up the routine, you’ll find inspiration and encouragement here, including details, costs and recommendations.
How It Works
Click on the headings below to find out more about each of them
Challenge Fifty Two is a record of my efforts at trying fifty-two things over the course of the year that I have never tried before. Originally a new years resolution in 2018, I enjoyed it so much I’ve done it ever since.
Those 12 months saw me being more proactive about things that I wanted to try. They provided a whole host of new experiences I never would have imagined myself in, and taught me lots about the activities, and myself.
It also brought about some mild peril as there were still a number of new things I needed to try before midnight on 31st December 2018 in order to reach the hallowed fifty-two! In fact this mild peril happens every year with December ending up being a very busy month! (I’m aiming to buck this trend in 2024!)
My rules for Challenge Fifty Two and the fifty-two new things are simple:
- it has to be legal
- it mustn’t hurt anyone else
- it doesn’t have to be a new thing each week
Many other people have taken on a similar challenge. They’re often much more disciplined at completing weekly activities whereas I prefer not to be committed to doing things in that way. I just aim to reach the goal of fifty two new things by the end of the year.
It’s not a life list either. I think it’s great to have those to aim for bigger dreams and goals. Challenge Fifty Two definitely includes long held plans, yet it also includes things just because I’ve never done them before.
From the daft to the daring, the easy to the extreme, and all of the everyday adventures in between.
My aim is for this site to provide ideas and encouragement to help more people try more new things, to build confidence, build connections and have fun doing it.
I’ve put together this website as a record of my exploits in the hope it will give inspiration and encouragement to anyone who stumbles across it.
I’ve spoken to people who have big birthdays, and I’ve seen lots of lists on line about achieving a certain number of things before a significant milestone age. When I’ve mentioned to people what I’m up to, there are often responses about wanting to do something similar.
I’ve found a lot of activities lists online. These can be good, but I was finding there was a lot of repetition and some very vague suggestions. I hope this site gives the details needed so more people can try more new things. Let me know if there’s anything missing!
