An effective way to jumpstart success toward working on any goal or project is by setting a challenge. Challenges can be designed to any goal or project by giving them a specific time frame and dedicating yourself consistently and intensely for the entire period.

This is a great strategy for achieving a major goal in a relatively short period of time.  No matter if your goal is to lose weight, save money, write a book, build better relationships, whatever the goal, you can set a challenge strategy to work for you.

Many people are motivated with a Challenge and find they get the most out of this approach by setting a realistic short timeframe. Challenges can be designed to work in groups, or with a buddy or even alone. Challenges often need at least an accountability partner or group to help them with motivation and stay on task to reach the finish line.

Challenges often have a reward at the finish line, either a physical reward or the enormous reward of achieving the goal or reaching the specific Mile Marker toward the overall goal you’ve set. It’s competition with yourself or a team, to see who can win. In reality everyone who participates and finishes the challenge wins!  With each step brings success which leads to victory!

Here are some examples:  For Losing Weight and Increasing Fitness

A step challenge is a great one for Hep C patients who need to lose weight and increase energy and physical endurance. Great for overall healthy habits!

10,000 steps a day is a great challenge. Use a pedometer or fitness tracker to keep up with your daily steps. Look for ways to take walking breaks and get in some extra steps toward your daily step challenge. An average person has a stride length of approximately 2.1 to 2.5 feet. That means that it takes over 2,000 steps to walk one mile; and 10,000 steps would be almost 5 miles. A sedentary person may only average 1,000 to 3,000 steps a day. For these people adding steps has many health benefits.

If you are a beginner, set your challenge for 500 more steps than what you averaged the day or week before, this will help you build up to 10,000 steps a day.

When I can’t get outdoors to walk, one of my favorite walking plans is with Leslie Sansone’s Walk@Home DVD’s and program. Here is another good walking site:http://www.thewalkingsite.com/10000steps.html

You can use the Power of 15 minutes in working on your daily challenge. If you do this consistently each day you will be surprised how this helps you achieve the goal.

Another great Challenge example: Building Better Relationships

 

Set one night or day a week to spend quality one on one time with the person or group you desire a closer relationship with. Do something you both enjoy or that they enjoy. Give them your undivided attention. Take interest in what they are doing. Make them feel important and validated. You can set this challenge for 3 months or longer. Keep it going for an even better relationship. Reap the rewards of a close relationship.

Want to write a book?  Set a 500 word a day challenge by writing 500 words a day.

Do you see how you can design a challenge to work on your goal or project?

What Challenge can you set to work on your goal or project?

This entry was originally published on Life Beyond Hepatitis C, and is reprinted with permission.