Wellness Challenge

Last weekend, some friends and I were discussing the difficulty of maintaining balance in our lives. It's hard to stay on top of things sometimes! I feel like this time of year is particularly challenging, when we've used up our last holiday of the semester and winter is still upon us. It's just tough to stay motivated! 

I told my friends that I would create a "wellness challenge" for us, something to get us progressing rather than remaining stagnant. I think that if we have checklists of the things we want to do and become, it will help us to create those habits more quickly than if they were just floating around abstractly in our heads. 

I wanted to go with a theme, though, and I found it in 2 Nephi 5. I think it's a really interesting chapter. It was written right after the Nephites split from the Lamanites, and Nephi writes about all the things they were doing with their time- keeping the commandments, working, learning, creating, going to the temple. And what did he sum all of that up with? "And it came to pass that we lived after the manner of happiness." They were living balanced and productive lives, and Nephi called that "the manner of happiness." So I pulled our theme from that, but we created our own all-encompassing categories for bringing balance to our lives. I now give you...

Our new motto!

Habits: "We become what we want to be by consistently being what we want to become." -Richard G. Scott

Basically, the whole point of this challenge is to prune away the bad habits and cultivate good ones. We hope that having these checklists will help to: 1) solidify the good habits we already have, 2) create new habits that  will improve our lives, and 3) decrease bad habits that hinder our progression.

Academics: "The glory of God is intelligence, or, in other words, light and truth." D&C 93:36 

The time we have left in school is so precious and short, but it's easy to lose sight of its importance in the sea of papers and tests. But we can't let that happen! We need to take advantage of the awesome privilege we have to learn in a university setting. For anyone working on this challenge that isn't in school, you're not off the hook! We should all be life-long learners. Learn something new today!

Physical Fitness: "For the temple of God is holy, which temple ye are" 1 Corinthians 3:17

Exercise makes you happier! It's a fact, folks. But seriously, it's important to take care of your body- it's the only one you've got! Taking care of your body now can save you a lot of pain (and money) in the future. And it will make you feel good now!

Personal Development: "Think about your life and set your priorities. Find some quiet time regularly to think deeply about where you are going and what you will need to do to get there." -M. Russell Ballard

We all have personal goals we're working on. Maybe your goal is to learn to play a new instrument. Maybe it's to have a more positive attitude. Maybe it's to finally finish that classic novel you started forever ago! Whatever your goal may be, set some mini-goals to help you to accomplish it. Work on becoming who you want to be.

Imagination:"The desire to create is one of the deepest yearnings of the human soul." -Dieter F. Uchtdorf

The drive to create is a major motivation for me, and I think that everyone has that drive in their own way. There's just something incredibly rewarding about making something out of nothing. For part of the challenge, we wanted to make time to create! Play a song, paint a picture, write a poem,  do a puzzle, whatever floats your boat. But get out there and make something! 

Nutrition: "And all saints who remember to keep and do these sayings, walking in obedience to the commandments, shall receive health in their navel and marrow to their bones." D&C 89:18 

I don't know about you, but I can definitely feel a difference when I eat better. For the challenge, we wanted to start living more in accordance with the Word of Wisdom and make healthier choices. Cut back on processed foods, eat more whole grains and fruits and veggies, drink more water, everything in moderation. You get the gist. 

Endure to the End:  "And, if you keep my commandments and endure to the end you shall have eternal life, which gift is the greatest of all the gifts of God." D&C 14:7

Okay, so ideally, this would actually be last to sum up the challenge... But hey, what can you do. I feel like this one is pretty self-explanatory, but the sum-up at the end should cover this pretty well.

Spiritual Growth: "We were placed here on Earth to progress toward our destiny of eternal life." -Dallin H. Oaks

Obviously, this is the most important category. Being on the right path spiritually will put you on the right path for all the other aspects of your life. And it's by being consistent with the everyday things that will give you greater companionship of the Spirit and open your heart and mind to greater spiritual knowledge. So read the scriptures, pray, keep the commandments! Personally, I think that having an attitude of gratitude can do a LOT for your spiritual growth, too. If you look for the Lord's hand in your life, you will find it. 

Social Activity: "Friendship is one of the grand fundamental principles of Mormonism." -Joseph Smith

Where's the fun in life without your friends? Social activity is important, and has a pretty big impact on your overall well-being. So get out there and talk to people! Hang out, date, throw a party, anything that will get you out there to interact with people and build relationships. 

That's our challenge! You can find the checklists here. You can do it! I realize that you're not going to carry around these checklists for the rest of your life, but if following these plans for a few weeks can help you to form life-long good habits (or even just a testimony of the good that comes from these habits), then we've accomplished something big. The key is to endure to the end. Start small, and work your way up to your bigger goals. If you mess up, don't beat yourself up- just try again!  Keep pressing forward, take it one day at a time. And you'll become the person you want to be before you know it!

*I stole this from Erika since she did all the real work for the Wellness Challenge!*