Why start the New Year with a challenge
Miscellaneous / / December 30, 2021
The January marathon is no different from the usual one, except that it is slightly more effective. And that's why.
If New Year is a big Monday for you, from which you want to start losing weight, quit smoking and do yoga, then try not just to make this wish under the chimes, but also to fit into challenge.
We consulted with a psychologist, took comments from experienced marathon runners, and read a lot of literature on motivation and goal setting. And now we are ready to tell you why January 1 is a really good date to start changing your life for the better.
What are the advantages of January challenges
There are many advantages: it is both an element of competition, and an opportunity to test how this or that habit is built into your life. But first things first.
1. Dual motivation
In January, everyone around is talking about changes and a new stage in life. We want to make good habits, meet interesting people and do what we have been putting off for a long time.
Alexandra Ermilova
Many people associate the New Year with change, a clean slate. On this holiday there is a tradition of making wishes, reflecting on what has changed in our life over the past year.
The practice of taking stock and setting goals can be beneficial if it is truly responsive, joyful, and inspiring.
Challenges, which are aimed at regularly performing some actions, can become assistants on the path to a new life. For example, if you have long wanted to do the splits, you can buy a 30-day stretching course. If your dream is to write a novel, take part in the 1 day - 1 page challenge. And if you notice that you have begun to use too much alcohol, then the obvious choice is "Dry January".
Challenges can be an impulse to make a difference in life. They discipline and motivate participants to complete tasks on a regular basis through a competitive spirit and community support. All these are psychologistsDifferences of Extrinsic and Intrinsic Motivation / Verywell Mind characterized as extrinsic motivation, which works with two feelings: the desire to receive a reward and the fear of being punished.
In addition, the New Year itself can act as a kind of external motivation: it is an understandable starting point for a new, improved life, an attempt to start from scratch. Therefore, the January Challenge encourages you to achieve your goal with redoubled zeal.
2. Community presence
Many challenges involve a community of like-minded people. You can find it in topic groups or on influencer pages. There, people usually willingly share the necessary information, encourage each other and help keep motivation, which can fade after a few days if the challenge is long.
Alexandra Ermilova
When we start a new business for ourselves alone, it is easier to give up when faced with difficulties that seem insurmountable. In such a situation, advice and guidance from people walking the same path helps not to despair.
And the challenge format often implies a daily report to others, and in this moment our social responsibility is included.
If nothing like this is found in your info field, you can create a community yourself. This is easier on New Years: people have time and a request for change. Invite like-minded people to go through the challenge together, organize a supportive chat and throw a cry there if it seems that you are about fall loose and eat a pound of rolls.
3. Test drive habits
The Challenge will make you think about how to organize the time and space for its passage. You will need to figure out, for example, where to store sneakers, what kind of inventory is needed to complete the stretch, and what timeslot can be freed up for daily tasks.
New Year's holidays provide an opportunity to introduce a new habit in a careful and systematic way, since during this time you have no distractions in the form of work, study and other everyday duties.
Nastya Smirnova
She participated in the 365 Sketches Challenge. I made at least one sketch every day for a year.
In the first few weeks of the challenge, I developed habits that helped along the way. Firstly, I realized that I should always have a list of what I would like to draw on hand. Secondly, carry around a minimal set for drawing - a small notebook and a mini-pencil case with a few of your favorite tools. Even if I go to the store for 10 minutes.
The Challenge will help you find out what life looks like when you do yoga or take a short run every day. And after it is completed, you can take stock and decide if you want to continue doing it. And at the same time, adjust the goals that you set for yourself for the next 365 days.
How to choose a challenge
Brandon Burchard, the bestselling author on motivation, in his book The Charge: Activating the 10 Human Drives That Make You Feel Alive provides some tips for choosing a challenge.
1. Do not get angry
The challenge requires effort, time and concentration, which means that you will not be able to participate in 10 marathons at once. You need to choose one area of life that seems important to pump at a particular moment in time. And in accordance with this, it is already determined with the challenge.
Perhaps now you regularly want to paint more than sit on leg-splitthen it might be worth thinking about 365 sketches rather than the 30-day stretch.
2. Don't pick challenges that you can't afford
Challenges challenge our efforts and capabilities by constantly asking for a little more than you currently have. Yes, you need to choose tasks that are outside your comfort zone. But it is important that they are not too overwhelming.
Brandon Burchard
Have you come across video games in which, along with the passage of levels, the difficulty would not increase? Life is the same game. For example, if you are a good speaker but always use notes, try giving them up next time - it’s a little test.
Everything should be planned. There is no need to go from the first level of difficulty to the tenth - it only frustrates you. Better to choose a challenge that will help you rise from the first level to the second or third.
For example, if you have never been involved in weightlifting, it is unlikely that you should arrange a challenge for yourself, after a week of which you will allegedly lift 100 kilograms with one left hand.
3. Pay attention only to those challenges that match the SMART model
SMART is a goal setting system. According to her, they should be specific, measurable, achievable, relevant and time-bound.
This technique helps turn ephemeral dreams into clear and precise routes to achieve what you want. That is, when choosing a challenge, it is important that the goal does not sound vague, like "run more". This statement is devoid of specifics, immeasurable and not limited in time. Better to replace it, for example, with "run every day for 15 minutes."
In addition, since the challenge is an intense marathon, it cannot last forever. It is important that it has an end date that you or your community set.
The fact that an occupation has deadline, strongly motivates not to stop: when it gets difficult, it is important to see the light at the end of the tunnel.
Burchard also notes how important it is to measure your progress. It is better if these are quantitative indicators: for example, how many kilograms you lost or how many kilometers you ran.
What is the bottom line
Challenges help to pump a certain skill and improve life with the help of a system of external motivations. New Years marathons do all the same, but they motivate you a little more and prepare you a little better to introduce the habit into your daily life.
Therefore, if you have long wanted to give yourself the impetus to try something new, then perhaps the January Challenge is your option.
Evgeniya Dashkova
Participated in the "Dry January" challenge. I haven't drunk alcohol for a month.
I'm sure that challenges improve life, because even if you don't change radically, you just won't drink for a month. This is cool. Now I participate in "Dry January" every year. Yes, I have not stopped drinking alcohol altogether, but I have reduced its presence in my life by half. I'm proud of myself!
And remember: the activity chosen for the challenge must first of all bring joy and pleasure. After all, is it worth wasting your life (and New Year's holidays) on something that you absolutely don't want to do?
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