I'm Not Catholic, But I Like Lent

One new post every five months...sounds about right!

Lent starts tomorrow.  It is not something that is a part of my religion (LDS), but I like the concept of having a defined period in which to better myself in some way, either by giving something up (the traditional Lenten sacrifice) or taking on a new virtue.

My friend, Jen, introduced me to the "40 Bags in 40 Days" decluttering program, which is scheduled to begin tomorrow.  I certainly have drawers, bookshelves and even rooms in my house that can use some decluttering.  My office at work definitely needs some work.  What I like about this program is that there are also "non-stuff things" that can be decluttered, like email inboxes and computer desktops.

That got me to thinking about other "non-stuff" areas that I can declutter.  I can declutter my mind of negative thoughts.  I can declutter my body of fat, excess calories and (maybe) sugar and artificial sweeteners.  I can declutter my heart of judgement and grudges.  Those things sound like good things to do any time of the year.

I could also do a "40 Days of Personal Progress", which would probably get me to complete Personal Progress.  That would be pretty fun!

I am also working on doing at least one kind of physical activity every day for the next 40 days.  I'm pretty good at doing something for five or six days in a row, then I blow it.  I'll be counting even my short ride or walk to and from work, so that is helpful.

What could you do for Lent, Dear Reader?

That's Why They Call It a Challenge

Challenges are something that I've been thinking a lot about lately.  Three weeks ago, I joined my sister-in-law, as well as Rowdy's cousin, the cousin's husband and two of the SIL's friends in a wellness competition.  We have eight weeks to make changes in our health habits.  Not every week or even every day is easy.  But if it was easy, it wouldn't be a challenge, would it?

Here is my guest post for the blog Lifetime Wellness Challenge:

Years ago, I was part of a university committee that monitored student progress.  Two of the deans were sitting near me at one meeting, talking about two upperclassmen that violated the law in some way and were being held in the county jail.

Dean Victor:  I felt so sorry for them!  The conditions there were terrible—no privacy, tough people, overcrowding….

Dean Joe (looking incredulous):  That’s why they call it JAIL, Vic!  It’s not supposed to be easy.

I think about that whenever I or someone else expresses surprise and/or dismay when a challenging situation arises.  That's why they call it a challenge, Vic!! 

One of my teammates was apologizing last week for not being able to complete the bonus.  She and her husband own their own business, which is vacation-related and extremely busy over the summer.  They have been great at eating well, avoiding sweets, staying hydrated, working exercise into their busy, active lives, but they couldn’t get that one last thing in.  My response to her was, “You are doing your best.  Keep at it.  That’s why they call it a challenge.”  If it were easy, we’d all be doing everything perfectly.  We started this endeavor four weeks ago because we wanted to make permanent changes to improve our own and our families’ fitness level. 

Challenges sometimes hurt.  They make us stretch.  We go outside of our comfort zones.  Sometimes challenges will make us mad, or make us cry, or make us doubt ourselves.

Never fear, what seemed like a challenge four weeks ago will be second nature by October 8^th.  Don’t beat yourself up, just keep going.  You will find that the nature of the challenge doesn’t change—the mile run doesn’t get shorter—but you get stronger and faster.