Category: Blog

Day 7: Confessions of a Water Hater (Or: A Gallon of Bleh)

~ David Willis ~ Leave a comment

I need to confess something on Day 7 of this challenge: I don’t love drinking water.

Actually, let me be more specific. I hate lukewarm water. Room temperature water is the beverage equivalent of beige wallpaper—utterly forgettable and vaguely disappointing. When I think about drinking almost a gallon a day, all I can think is: Great. Another gallon of bleh.

You know what’s not bleh? Coffee. Strain that water through some magical coffee beans and suddenly you’ve got something worth drinking. Coffee all day, with an occasional Zevia thrown in for variety—that’s my ideal beverage lineup.

But no. The 7-40 Challenge says 100 ounces of water. Every. Single. Day.

The Logistical Nightmare

Here’s what nobody tells you about drinking a million glasses of water daily: you need a mental map of every bathroom within a five-mile radius.

You have to know when your next meeting is so you can strategically visit the facilities. Otherwise, you’re doing that awkward dance on a Zoom call, hoping nobody notices you’re shifting your weight every 30 seconds while someone drones on about Q1 projections.

“Can you see my screen? Great. Can you see my desperate need for a bathroom break? No? Perfect, let’s keep going.”

If I had my druthers… I druther not.

The Unfortunate Truth

But here’s the thing I can’t escape: I’ve been targeting 100 ounces a day for a few years now. Not because I suddenly fell in love with water’s sparkling personality. But because—and I hate admitting this—it works.

When I’m properly hydrated:

  • I have more energy
  • My mind is clearer
  • I move more during the day (thanks, bathroom trips)
  • My workout recovery is better
  • I actually feel better overall

I usually gulp down 32 ounces at a time just to get it over with. Three or four strategic strikes throughout the day, and I’m done. It’s not elegant, but it does the job.

The Brussels Sprouts Principle

Sometimes we have to do what we don’t like. It’s like eating your Brussels sprouts so you can go out and play.

I drink my water because it lets me do all the good stuff. The lifting. The walking. The mental clarity to revise novel chapters. The energy to show up for my family.

And then I reward myself with a cup of coffee.

Day 7 Scorecard: ✅ Bible study ✅ Exercise (Workout B destroyed my back and legs) ✅ Reading (Made to Stick – novices crave concreteness) ✅ Gratitude ✅ Blog post (this reluctant love letter to hydration) ✅ Calories and water ✅ Walking ✅ Creative hour

Seven days. Seven perfect execution days. Including 700 ounces of water I didn’t particularly enjoy.

The best time to start drinking your gallon of bleh? Now. Even if you hate it as much as I do.

See you tomorrow for Day 8.

Day 6: When Knowledge Gets in the Way of Starting

~ David Willis ~ Leave a comment

Challenge update: Down 3.7 pounds in six days.

My shoulders are still protesting yesterday’s first free weight workout—incline press, standing press, the whole deal. Good sore, not bad sore…but still sore.

Here’s what’s been rolling around in my head during my 30 minutes of reading today.

I’m working through “Made to Stick” by Chip Heath and Dan Heath as part of my daily reading habit. Today I hit a concept called the “curse of knowledge”—and it punched me right in the gut.

Here’s the curse: Once you know something, you can’t un-know it. You forget what it’s like to not understand.

The Heath brothers describe this experiment: Someone taps out the rhythm of “Happy Birthday” on a table. The tapper hears the full melody in their head—lyrics, tune, everything. But the listener? Just random knocks. The tapper predicts 50% success that the listener will know the tune. Actual success rate? 2.5%.

The expert can’t imagine the beginner’s confusion anymore.

And that’s exactly why so many of us never start.

For over twenty years, I had lists. “Someday I’ll get in shape.” “Someday I’ll write that novel.” “Someday I’ll build better habits.”

But I was waiting to know enough before I started. Waiting until I had the perfect plan. The right program. All the answers. I was waiting until the perfect time.

Here’s what I’m realizing on Day 6: The curse of knowledge works both ways.

I’ve spent 18 years in data management. I know how this curse shows up professionally—I’d stand in front of rooms explaining concepts, watching eyes glaze over, thinking “Why don’t they get it?” Because I’d forgotten what it’s like to be confused.

But I’ve also let other people’s expertise paralyze me. All those fitness gurus who’ve already lost 50 pounds. The productivity experts with their systems perfected. The writers with published novels.

They made it look so obvious. So simple. “Just do these seven things!”

And I’d think: “If it’s that easy, why can’t I do it? What’s wrong with me?”

Nothing was wrong with me. I just didn’t know what Day 6 felt like for them.

They’d forgotten the confusion. The soreness. The scale moving too slowly. The creative hour that produces three decent pages instead of a masterpiece. The moments you want to quit.

That’s why I’m documenting this challenge in real time. Not after I’ve succeeded. Not when I have all the answers and can package it nicely.

Right now. Day 6. Still figuring it out.

Because the best time to start isn’t when you know everything. It’s now. Messy, confused, 3.7 pounds down with a long way to go.

You don’t need expertise to begin. You just need to begin. The best time to start is now.

Today’s scorecard: ✅ Bible study ✅ Exercise (yoga + walking) ✅ Reading (Made to Stick) ✅ Five novel chapters revised (30 total now) ✅ Water ✅ calories ✅ gratitude

That’s Day 6. Not perfect. Not polished. Just real.

What’s been stopping you from starting? Drop a comment—I’d love to hear what curse you’re breaking.

See you tomorrow for Day 7.

Day 5: Why I Got Up at 5:00 AM

~ David Willis ~ Leave a comment

My alarm went off at 5:00 this morning. Not because I’m a morning person—I’m not. But because I made myself a promise: all workouts done by noon during these first rounds of the 7-40 Challenge.

An hour of exercise doesn’t happen by accident.

Eight years ago, I was in a hospital bed with a 13 cm tumor. Chemo. Surgery. Radiation. By God’s grace, I’m cancer-free. But that door? I don’t ever want it to open again.

So I get up. I move. I lift.

Today was my first free weight workout of the year—incline press, standing press, triceps work. My shoulders are already telling me tomorrow’s going to hurt. Good. That means it’s working.

Here’s what daily exercise gives me:

Mobility I can’t take for granted. At 47, I notice how quickly things tighten up. Daily movement keeps me loose and energized.

Strength for real life. Not just gym strength—the kind that lets me help around the house, take long walks, tackle whatever comes without hesitation.

A fighting chance. Exercise strengthens my body and acts as a defense against the illness I’ve already beaten. It’s a tool to help me fulfill my purpose: caring for my family and making a difference in the world.

Thomas Jefferson wrote to his nephew: “Give about two hours every day to exercise; for health must not be sacrificed to learning. A strong body makes the mind strong.”

I’ll be honest—I’m carrying more weight than I should be…over 40 pounds more. That’s exactly why I’m committing to an hour daily right now. Once I’ve made progress, I’ll ease back to 30 minutes for maintenance.

For some, exercise is already solid and other areas need work. For me, this is a focal point.

The best time to start? Not Monday. Not next month. Today. The best time to start is NOW.

What’s your focal point in your own challenge? Drop a comment—let’s keep each other moving.

See you tomorrow for Day 6.

Why Gratitude Is Habit #7 in My 7-40 Challenge: Three Gifts That Changed Everything

~ David Willis ~ Leave a comment

When I designed the 7-40 Challenge—seven daily habits practiced for 40 days, repeated throughout 2026—I had to make hard choices. Only seven habits. Not eight. Not ten. Seven.

Bible study made the list. So did exercise, calorie tracking, water intake, reading, and creative work. But the seventh spot? That one is special to me.

I chose gratitude.

Not because it’s trendy. Not because some productivity guru told me to keep a gratitude journal. I chose gratitude because without it, I forget who I am and whose I am.

Gifts, Not Guarantees

I’ve always tried to be a grateful person. Whether through things people have done for me or gifts I’ve received, I’ve understood—or mostly understood—that those gifts were just that: gifts. Not things to expect. Not things to demand.

But I’ve received some gifts in my life that go far beyond my deserving. And I see gratitude as a way to remain centered in those gifts and how thankful I am for them.

The first is my relationship with Jesus.

I recognize that I need Him, and He saved me when I called out to Him. He forgave me of my sins and made me His. I am forever grateful.

The second gift is my wife.

We met when we were 19 years old. Somehow we had the clarity of mind and the foresight to know we had found the person we wanted to spend the rest of our lives with. We celebrate our 27th wedding anniversary this week, and she is the best friend I have ever had aside from God Himself.

The third gift is my son.

We prayed for a very long time for his arrival. When he finally came, it was not without complication. But God took care of him, and he has grown to be such a fine young man—so loving, so smart, so many other things. I am so grateful for him.

These three gifts—Jesus, my bride, my son—aren’t things I earned. They’re treasures I’ve been given. And gratitude is how I remember that.

And there are other ways gratitude has shaped me as well.

When Gratitude Becomes Survival

I was first diagnosed with cancer in 2004 when I was 26 years old. I went through chemotherapy in 2005 and thought I was cancer-free. I was beyond relieved and so grateful for a new start, a new opportunity to do good and be with my family.

For 13 years, life was normal.

Then in 2018, the doctor found a 13cm tumor that had shut off my left kidney. I was in excruciating pain. The diagnosis wasn’t good. It’s only by the grace of God that I am still here.

Because of that, I know I have purpose. I know I have more to do.

For this reason, I choose to be thankful every day.

Sometimes I start to forget. Life gets busy. Habits get routine. The miracle of waking up becomes ordinary again.

But it always comes back.

My heart is filled with so much gratitude for the opportunity to still be here with my family, to love them as hard as I can, and to do my best to live the life God wants me to live.

Gratitude isn’t a nice addition to my life. It’s how I survive with purpose.

Why Sundays Matter

That’s why gratitude is Habit #7 in my challenge. And that’s why every Sunday in 2026, I’m launching a Thank You Campaign—a weekly practice of publicly thanking the people who shaped me, believed in me, and invested in me even when I didn’t deserve it.

Because transformation doesn’t happen in isolation. I didn’t get here alone. And if I’m going to document 7 40 day rounds (280 days) as a “lab rat” proving that change is possible at any age, I need to acknowledge the truth: I am who I am because of the gifts I’ve been given and the people who gave them.

I choose to make my gratitude more tangible. I’m going to start saying thank you as often as I can because I choose a grateful heart.

Not just feeling it. Not just thinking it.

Saying it. Writing it. Making it real.

Because the best time to be grateful isn’t someday.

It’s now.

#thankyoucampaign #gratitude #thankyou

Day 3: The Best Time to Start Is Now

~ David Willis ~ Leave a comment

For more than 20 years, I’ve written lists. “Someday I’ll get in shape.” “Someday I’ll write that novel.” “Someday I’ll…”

Here’s what I’ve learned: someday never comes.

I’ve had wins—career success, creative projects completed. But they came out of balance. I’d crush it at work while my health tanked. I’d focus on one goal while others collected dust.

The pattern? Waiting for the perfect moment that never arrives.

So here’s my core message for the 7-40 Challenge: If it matters enough to want, it matters enough to start today.

Want to see your toes when you look down? Start today. Every day you wait, you’re choosing the opposite.

Want to write a novel? It costs nothing but focused time. The only question is whether you’ll trade scrolling for sentences.

Want to visit Bora Bora? Don’t buy the ticket on credit today—but start saving today. Take one step toward standing on top of the mountain and staring out at that ocean.

This is why I launched the 7-40 Challenge on January 1st instead of “when things settle down.” Things never settle down. I didn’t wait until I felt ready. I didn’t wait until I’d lost weight. I started messy, imperfect, and 280 pounds.

Seven daily habits. Forty days. Documented in real time.

Not because I’ve figured it out, but because I’m tired of waiting to start.

What’s been sitting on your shelf labeled “someday”?

Make today the day.

See you tomorrow for Day 4.