TUESDAY Motivators: New Year's Challenge Edition!

[...cuz, "sometimes, Monday's just aren't the greatest."] 

It's still January, which means it's not too late for a New Year's Resolution. 

Or in my case, seven. 

I've agreed to join a team of people I work with for the New Year 2015 Whole Life Challenge. It's not just focused on nutrition, the challenge is actually based on 7 habits of a healthy, happy, balanced life. 

Who better to describe it than the creators themselves.  Here's what, when and why the WLC is all about:

"While everyone wants to look and feel better, it can be a challenge to know how or where to start. The Whole Life Challenge focuses you on the key areas of your life that produce real, life long changes. Playing together with your friends and family in a fun and motivating daily game, you’ll create new healthy habits that last long after it ends." 

"The Whole Life Challenge works by identifying the areas that almost everyone wants to change, and then making a daily game out of creating new habits in each of those areas. The game is designed around the five key areas that every person can identify with. Relying on their more than forty years of combined personal coaching experience, the founders created a system of play focused on implementing new habits in each of the five key areas."

From start to finish, the Whole Life Challenge will last 56 days, or 8 weeks. It starts this Saturday, January 17th and ends just before St. Patrick's Day, on March 14th. 

While eating well and exercising aren't actually things I need to improve right now, I am looking forward to  enhancing my daily habits with more water, stretching, work-life balance and reflection. 

Here's a breakdown of the rules I'll live by for the next 8 weeks...

1. Eat by the WLC rules at the level of my choice (Lifestyle).  I'll make conscious choices that support my vision for a healthy lifestyle. I can earn up to 5 points daily for nutrition. 

2. Exercise for at least 10 minutes each day. They recommend 3-5 “workouts” each week. The other days I’ll earn my points by being active. Riding my bike, cross training at the gym, vigorous housework, even taking an invigorating walk with the pups. This is my time to move daily. 

I'll earn 2 points a day for exercise.

3. Stretch for at least 10 minutes each day. I'll earn 2 points for stretching.

4. Water. I'll need to drink one third of my body weight in oz. of water each day (20 ml per kg). I'll earn 1 point for water.

5. Supplement with a dietary supplement that would make a difference for my body if I took it every day. I'll earn one point for taking supplements. I already take a multivitamin, so since this is a challenge to improve upon my existing habits, I will choose an additional supplement. 

[I can get points for *quality* time with loved ones or doing good deeds.]

6. Live the WLC weekly lifestyle practice – things like sleep, meditation, & supporting others. We can earn 1 point each day you complete the weekly lifestyle task. I'll have to make a list of the various tasks I want to make time for to improve my lifestyle. Where to start...

[I can get points for getting more sleep.]

[I can get points for meditating. ]

 7.  Reflect at the end of each day and check in with how it went and how I'm doing. No amount of numbers can paint the whole picture. My daily reflection will help me see how the challenge is really going. I'll earn 1 point daily for my reflection.  Oddly, I'm most looking forward to this part and its multiple layers: 

• Communicate through the reflection feed.
• Check in on your teammates and see how they’re doing.
• Share your ups and downs.
• Give props & encouragement.

Bottom line, there's no excuse for this not to work. I'm already very healthy and well-intentioned. This challenge is just motivating me to make even more positive tweaks...and hopefully help motivate others!

[Everyone wants to be their best self, right?]