Weekly Challenge

Wowsa…it’s June already!! This year is flying by so quickly.

I want to challenge you this week to think about those goals you made New Year’s Eve. What did you want to accomplish this year? How was this year going to be different than last year? Maybe you didn’t make any goals….well now is as good as time as ever!

Reflect back on these back 5 months:

• What is working for you right now?
• What isn’t working for you right now?
• What distractions are you letting get in your way?
• What support do you need?
• Who are the 5 people you surround yourself with most? Are they helping or hurting you in life?

Looking back is hard sometimes when you are absolutely brutally honest with yourself. You can fluff through those questions pretty easy, but that doesn’t get you anywhere. That gets you stuck in the same place you are now.

Take time to answer those questions now…. I’ll wait….

You didn’t think I would make this challenge that easy did you?

Now it’s time to take action. Action is where the magic happens. You can read and reflect all you want, but it won’t matter unless you DO something about it.

Dec 31, 2024 – What would need to happen to feel like this year was a success? What goals do you want to accomplish? What are the gaps between where you are now and the goal you want to meet? What actions can you take to achieve that goal?

Now the power of reflection meets action:

• What do you need to stop (what’s not working) to achieve your goal?
• What do you need to continue doing (what’s working) to achieve your goal?
• How are you going to handle those distractions that keep getting in the way of your goal?
• Who or where are you going to go for support? Accountability is key here. Tell people your goal and what you are doing. Help them hold you accountable if you start picking back up on those distractions or bad habits. You are not on an island by yourself. Surround yourself with like minded people.

Be a goal getter! It’s never too late to just go for it!

Until it’s possible. Until we do it or someone else does. What are you telling yourself that you can’t do, but have the consistent nagging in your heart to do? You feel like you are being called, but fear of the unknown, of failure, of being laughed at keeps getting in your way.

This week’s challenge comes from a chapter in Bob Goff’s book “Everybody, Always.” If you haven’t read this book I highly recommend it. It will make you laugh and have you feeling all the feels that make you want to take action.

The chapter “Land the Plane” goes into a story about how Bob and his son were flying a plane and they really wanted to land in this spot that seemed near impossible to land. Finally Bob took the challenge and landed what seemed to be impossible. He was terrified and thrilled all at the same time. Then he had his son do the same thing. His son knew it could be done so it didn’t seem so impossible to him. He put himself out of his comfort zone and did the same thing with his son. It wasn’t easy for either of them. There was probably lots of holding their breath and tight buttchecks..lol. Bob just kept thinking, “ Land. The. Plane. The whole time.

We change the impossible to possible by getting out of our comfort zone.

That’s what this week’s challenge is about – Landing your own plane. Whatever that “plane” is in your life. God doesn’t always lead us to the safest route forward, but the one where we’ll grow the most. God trusts us to do the things he puts on our hearts. His biggest priority isn’t removing failure as an option, but reminding us that He loves us as we try.

God doesn’t just value the big endeavors we try, but all the attempts we do to try to do His good work.

Most of us don’t need more instruction to start, we just have to start. We will learn, fail, and grow as we go. It’s never failing if you learn from it and keep moving. Failing is when you stop because it’s too hard and you are scared. Success means pulling up those “big girl panties” and marching forward like it’s possible.

“He replied, “What is impossible for people is possible with God.””
‭‭Luke‬ ‭18‬:‭27‬ ‭NLT‬‬

“Jesus looked at them intently and said, “Humanly speaking, it is impossible. But not with God. Everything is possible with God.””
‭‭Mark‬ ‭10‬:‭27‬ ‭NLT‬‬

Remember you are not alone. Remember you cannot do it alone. God is there forever and always by your side. Do what he is putting on your heart for His Glory. There is so much more satisfaction is something that is bigger than yourself.

The challenge this week is inspired by my Uncle Jim who passed away this past week. His life of service and commitment to family is just an inspiration. The impact one person can have on so many lives can be seen by a church full of people saying goodbye. That’s the thing about this life – we really don’t know the impact we can make on someone’s life.

All it takes is one person to impact another person. Then the domino effect happens. You don’t have to be some famous person or have a huge following. You can make a difference in someone’s life today. The simple act of caring about someone even when it doesn’t benefit you or fit into your already busy day.

Think about the last time you truly felt loved? What did that person do? I bet it wasn’t some big extravagant thing. It’s the simple things that make the difference. Those small simple things add up quickly in a person’s heart.

“Love each other with genuine affection, and take delight in honoring each other.”
‭‭Romans‬ ‭12‬:‭10‬ ‭NLT‬‬

Take the first step today and touch someone’s life by doing something small.

Here are some examples: smile at them, give them a compliment, actually listen when they talk, thank them, send a card, give them a hug, bring them a coffee, call, text, or just show up at their door, do something that isn’t expected of you. The list can go on and on

Now here’s the second part. We have the challenge to start the effect. Now I’m adding on to be the stopper if you see something not right going on. Then you can start the positive impact with your domino. This is definitely not the easiest, but something we can do out of love.

“Don’t just pretend to love others. Really love them. Hate what is wrong. Hold tightly to what is good.”
‭‭Romans‬ ‭12‬:‭9‬ ‭NLT‬‬

This is going to be my Simply Succeed version of the 75 Hard challenge. It’s 75 days of discipline and creating healthy habits.

What do I have to do?

Here are the 5 things you will need to do EVERYDAY.

• Track your food
• Follow an exercise program (target daily movement)
• Drink at least 64 ounces of water. No soft drinks allowed.
• Read 10 pages of something that you learn something from
• Journal

Tracking Food

I am going to use the MyFitnessPal app (free version). There are other apps you could use like LoseIt! You could even just be old school and write it on a piece of paper. It’s about accountability of how you are fueling your body. If you don’t want to write it down, don’t eat it.

Follow an Exercise Program

BODi is my JAM! You could go the gym, walk outside, or find free online workouts on YouTube. Create a calendar of what you are going to do each day and when you will do it. Make it like an appointment that you cannot miss.

Drink 64 ounces of Water

Get a reusable water bottle that you know how many ounces it holds. Fill it up and drink all of it before refilling it. That way you have a target of how many refills you need.

Want a bigger challenge: Go full out and drink a gallon of water a day.

Reading & Journalling

This is part of the challenge because we want to have a growth mindset. To grow your mind, you need to learn something new.

The journal part is a reflection and gratitude. Reflecting on how the day went and what you are grateful for.

Why 75 days?

There is really no science behind it. It’s more about creating the habits so that they last. It takes roughly 30-45 days to make the habit. Then add 30-45 days to make it stick for life.

When do we start?

I am starting TOMORROW!! Why wait until a Monday. Plus I will finish a few days before my birthday.

This week I challenge you to really think about what food you are eating and when/why you are eating it. Are you eating to fuel your body with nutritious food or are you eating for other reasons?

This is definitely a challenge for me. I am a bored, stressed, lazy eater.

• Bored: Grab popcorn or something while I am watching TV. Especially those cooking shows. They make me hungry, but I LOVE them.
• Stressed: Had a stressful day at work or a stressful meeting. I “reward” myself with a snickers bar or something unhealthy. “I deserve it for putting up with it…”. lol. Or at least that is what I tell myself.
• Lazy: I know the way I should eat, but it takes work to do that. You have to plan ahead to make sure you have the food, cook the food, and then do the dishes. It sometimes easier just to go out to eat or throw in a frozen pizza.

Now am I this way all the time? Absolutely not, but I am self aware of my eating habits and when I am tempted I try to think before I eat or prepare ahead of time.

Fuel Your Body Tips:

• Use the weekend to plan your upcoming week. What do you have going on? What’s the weather supposed to be like?
• Make your lunches and snacks ahead of time so it is a grab and go. You will be less tempted to grab the unhealthy snack if you open the fridge and you can grab something ready for you.
• If you know you will be running around put a protein bar or bag of nuts in your purse or car.
• Don’t eat the same thing week after week. You will get bored and definitely stray off the path. Try a new recipe each week or new vegetable/fruit you haven’t tried.
• Remember that things that seem like a healthier option may be just a filler as the unhealthy. For example: a large muffin typically has the same amount of sugar and fat as a large cupcake.
• Think about the extras you put on your food. Extra dressing on your salad is diluting the fuel you are trying to eat.

This week’s challenge is to ONLY eat with two purposes.

• To fuel your body
• To appreciate flavors

Food is good! You can and should absolutely enjoy eating AND you can do this with these 2 purposes in mind.

Food is meant to be fuel for our body. Just as a car needs gas, your body requires good nutritious food to keep it moving efficiently. If you put diesel in a non-leaded vehicle, it will go for a little bit but will destroy your car. That’s exactly what all the junk food / processed food is doing to our bodies. We also have to keep filling up our car, make sure you are eating throughout the day. Don’t save your calories for later. By eating throughout the day you keep your blood sugar from dropping and your metabolism running.

Now I will be the first to admit that I am completely, absolutely guilty of eating all the junk. And I am the perfect example of why you can’t out train a bad diet. I am committed/dedicated to my workout plan, but food…not so much. Therefore, until I change my mindset and have the same commitment as my workouts I will always have “the belly…”. That’s where this week’s challenge is starting.

Now with the “healthy food” it doesn’t taste as good as the junk since it doesn’t have the sugars and other additives. That’s where the second part of the challenge comes in. You can make the healthy food taste good. There are so many recipes out there to choose from. Take a few minutes today to find some recipes that you want to try.

You can do hard things. Let’s start this week.

I am going to challenge you this week to take the compliment. Getting support from others involves give and take. When people give you solid helpful support, let them know you appreciate it!

Getting a compliment especially on something that you are working on, but not yet accomplished can be uncomfortable. Do you catch yourself discounting or be negative towards yourself? It’s easy to discount people’s comments because of your own frustrations toward progress to your goal. But when you react to compliments in a negative way, it makes people think their support doesn’t mean anything to you.

Don’t believe me? Think back to when you gave someone a genuine compliment and they dismissed it. How did you make you feel? Now think of when you gave a compliment and the person was appreciative. Who do you think you will give more compliments too?

Just say, “You can’t imagine how much it means to hear you say that. Thank You!!” It is seriously that easy.

This week practice giving and receiving compliments. Make sure you are genuine and see how people react. You can be the positive force that keeps that person continuing on their journey to meet their goals.

We all have those people around us that want to help us. The problem is they sometimes don’t help us the way we want them to. Guess what? They are not mind readers and probably have no idea that what they are doing isn’t helping you.

That’s where this week’s challenge is about. I challenge you to have the conversations with the people around you. Start with “It will help me if…” followed by what you want them to do. Not only will they be happy you told them, they will feel like they are really supporting you.

In the magic journal you made a few weeks ago, I want you to write a list of things that will help you meet your goals or even just help you be able to rest and relax a little bit. Use this list to have the conversations with the people around you that support you.

Remember that people want to help. They can’t read your mind so you have to actually tell them what you need.

Increase your chance of success of meeting your goals by becoming your own cheerleader. So often we depend on others to motivate and keep us going. After the initial excitement, those comments usually stop and our motivation goes with it. Who’s had this happen?

That’s why this week I am going to challenge to become your own motivator. Think of why you are so convinced you can be successful. Invent several phrases that reinforce your determination.

Here are a few ideas to get you started:

• I’m totally determined because….
• I’ve got a plan and I am sticking to it!
• I’m capable of meeting this goal.
• I can do anything I put my mind to.

If you are still struggling to motivate yourself, find some stories about others that have completed the goal you are after. Let them inspire you to keep going.

Practice by saying, “I CAN DO IT!” 10 times in a mirror.

Put sticky notes around your house, car, or work to remind yourself that you are strong and capable. You can meet this goal!

The week’s challenge involves getting a fun notebook! If you are not a paper/pencil kind of person – find a great app like one note to start your notebook.

The challenge is ending your day with journaling. This could be writing down what happened during the day, the emotions you are feeling, your worries, etc. Basically anything that comes into your mind – write it down. If you try and struggle with this, set a timer. Start with 1 minute. Don’t think about it – just start doodling if you have to.

We all have busy lives with lots of things going on. At the end of the day, we need to just “brain dump.” This is one of my favorite things to do especially with to do lists. Just write it all down and get it out of your head. Having your head cleared of all the things allows you to settle down to a good nights sleep.

Here are some more journal ideas:

– Write down specific things you were grateful for today.

– What is something you are most proud of today?

– What is something that didn’t go the way you wanted it to go? How could you have reacted differently?

– What are the most important things you need to get done tomorrow? What can stand in your way? What will you do if that happens?

– Reflect on your day – Who made you happy today? What did they do? Who did you make smile today?