Category: challenge

A dark-skinned woman holding a chocolate sheet cake the the candles of 2 and 4, and about to eat a corner of it. It's funny! 24 things Catherine wants to do in 2024
challenge · fitness · habits · Happy New Year!

24 things Catherine wants to do in 2024

catherine w1 Comment

Recently Sam posted her list of 24 things she wants to do in 2024, inspired by Gretchen Rubin’s Happiness Project and asked what others planned to do. Diane posted Diane’s 24 things for 2024. So, here’s mine.

Pick a word of the year: Mine is COLLECTIVE.

Commit to writing for 2, 4, or 24 minutes a day: yes, I’m doing that. I took on a couple of writing challenges that are going pretty well (so far). I’m enjoying the prompts and into it.

Now comes the hard part: choose 24 things I want to do in 2024. Okay, here goes:

1. Learn how to and then use my insta-pot (Instant-Pot? Instant Pot?) for cooking in a way that makes my cooking life easier

2. Ditto for my Kitchen Aid stand mixer (both of these appliances were gifts, but so far have been unused, so they sit there, waiting on me)

3. And also my bread machine (remember those? I got it free from a buy-nothing group); I like fresh bread, and the directions look non-complicated

4. Learn to make more plant-based meals and make them for myself and friends

5. Make more progress on reducing my consumption of animals; I stopped eating pork last October, and am working this year on eliminating beef from my diet

6. go to the Chatauqua conference in upstate NY with my beloved aunt Cathy this July

7. go to western Massachusetts for biking, swimming, and museums with friends

8. go to Canada in August with my friend Norah and visit with Canadian friends, including as many of the bloggers as possible

9. celebrate my sister’s 60th birthday at a location of her choosing

10. go to the beach, preferably in South Carolina, for up to a week for swimming, beach meandering, kayaking, reading, napping

11. go to a meditation retreat at Kripalu, either for a weekend or a week

12. go to a couple of academic conferences this year (post-pandemic, I’m still easing back into this habit)

13. Continue my daily meditation practice, knowing that there will come a day where I get too busy or forget or something else gets in the way. That’s okay. I’ll just return to practice the next day. It’s how it works.

14. Ride a bike inside or outside once a week; I just set up my trainer in my now-sort-of-cleaned-out study, so that part is set

15. Set up a regular swimming routine, either at my gym (where it’s very hard to get reservations for lanes!) or at a local pond while it’s warm enough

16. Extend my regular swimming routine outside into the fall. Those cold-water swimming photos look invigorating, but I know they are other things, too (like really cold!) I know some folks who do this on the regular. Maybe I could consider joining some of them sometime

17. Attend an in-person yoga class once a week at my favorite studio Artemis, which is also nearby my house. I’m doing online yoga classes about once a week, but in-person feels nicer. I miss it

18. Do more book reading and less phone scrolling in bed before going to sleep

19. Read all the books for the rest of my book club meetings this year

20. Read books that are in my house; I have a lot of them that are as-yet unread!

21. Set aside dedicated time for drawing and for crafting; they are both extremely pleasurable and relaxing

22. Remember that stopping and focusing on gratitude is always good for what ails me

23. Prioritize writing more– set aside dedicated and non-rushed time for creative non-fiction writing, just for me

24. Say yes to more outings and adventures and then actually go on them with friends and family!

So, readers, do you have a list for 2024? Care to share any items with us? We’d love to hear from you.

You never know what adventures the open road holds. Thanks, Unsplash, for the photo. A view of the road from the
You never know what adventures the open road holds. Thanks, Unsplash, for the photo.
A photo of a vase of flowers. Christine’s Feb 5 Update
challenge · fitness · goals · motivation · planning

Christine’s Feb 5 Update

Christine Hennebury

Good news! The swearing DID help and the knot in my neck/shoulder is almost completely untied.

Metaphorically, of course.

As of now, I’m trying to ease back into things so I don’t set off another spasm but things feel good overall.

I haven’t made as much progress as I had hoped with my Fitness Feb 5 but I’m not stressed about it.

Here’s how things look right now (hearts that are coloured in = completed sessions) :

a drawing of 5 large hearts (2 red and 3 pink) trimmed in gold and outlined in black set against a background of smaller heart-shapes drawn with thin black marker. The centre of the image has text reading ‘The Fitness Feb 5’ and each heart has a different practice
My updated chart for tracking my ‘Feb 5’ (which is meant to be a play of Fab 4 but you know, with 5 things and in February.) Image description: a drawing of 5 large hearts (2 red and 3 pink) trimmed in gold and outlined in black set against a background of smaller heart-shapes drawn with thin black marker. The centre of the image has text reading ‘The Fitness Feb 5’ and each heart has a different practice on it and small hearts for tracking when I do them. So far I have done 1 patterns practice, 1 RYC session, 2 journal prompts, and 3 longer meditations but no rowing hours.

Right now my stats are:

Rowing – 0

Journal Prompts – 2

Patterns Practice – 1

RYC (core training) – 1

Longer meditations – 3

I have done other journaling and meditation but I am tracking specific things in February rather than every journaling or meditation practice.

And I have been for walks and, when possible, done some kinds of yoga even though I couldn’t do patterns or row.

And if I can’t get any rowing done this month it will become part of my March Ahead plan instead.

I refuse to be mean to myself about this. Self-compassion all the way!

How is your February going?

Have you had to shift stuff like I have?

Do you need some encouragement?

Do you have a fun chart?

Tell me all about it!

Pretty please?

A long-brown-haired person with blue cap and snarling with white teeth. by Ethan Haddox for Unsplash. Can we really make changes in exercise/eating habitual “just like brushing your teeth”? Catherine investigates (part 1)
challenge · fitness · habits · health

Can we really make changes in exercise/eating habitual “just like brushing your teeth”? Catherine investigates (part 1)

catherine w4 Comments

Note: this is part one of an at-least-two-part series on habit formation or change and our criteria for success (e.g. “it’s as regular or effortless as brushing our teeth”).

Dear FIFI readers, I have the great pleasure to announce that February is here. This means, among other things, that January challenges are over.

Yay! Woo-hoo! So happy! Thanks for the love, Anthony D from Unsplash…

However, like others who started down the New Year’s challenge path, I’ve still got a long way to go if I want to change some of the 167-odd habits I targeted in this year’s challenges. Laying down tracks of behavior change takes time and persistence, and we have to integrate them so they fit comfortably and work feasibly within our lives.

We hear this all the time from health and fitness and nutrition coaches, writers and practitioners: in order to make a habit stick, you need to treat it like brushing your teeth. You’re not going to forget to brush your teeth, are you?

Ambiguous image of woman who either forgot to brush teeth or is in shock at the very idea of forgetting to brush teeth. A blond haired woman with glasses with her hands over her mouth and eyes in wide surprise.
Woman who either forgot to brush teeth or is in shock at the very idea of forgetting to brush teeth.

According to this Harvard health information site, toothbrushing:

may be the most ingrained of all health habits. We take a toothbrush with us when we travel. Most people can’t imagine getting through a day without brushing at least once and probably twice. 

There are, of course, plenty of stats available on the prevalence of toothbrushing. According to this Canadian study,

when asked about the personal care of their teeth, 78.3% of Canadians aged 12 and older reported brushing their teeth at least two times per day, while less than half (43.0%) reported flossing their teeth at least once per day.

For US usage, see this handy graph:

2019 survey showing 69% of US adults brush teeth 2+ times a day, while 29% brush once a day. 2% report not brushing.

This is pretty good compliance on the dental health front (flossing is less ingrained, but hey, one habit at a time…) How is this possible? I mean, brushing teeth is super-fun, especially with friends and family, right?

Happy couple brushing happily. Image by Freepik.
Happy couple brushing happily. Image by Freepik.
Silly couple brushing in silly fashion. Image by Freepik.
Silly friends brushing in silly fashion. Image by Freepik.

Yeah, well, maybe not (these happy pictured folks notwithstanding). So, how to account for the high percentage of toothbrushing? I wonder if anyone has thought about studying this…

Turns out (unsurprisingly), yes– people have done loads of studies on the ways toothbrushing is habitual. This 2021 study, a series of 29 semi-structured interviews done in northwest England, shows the many ways people have integrated toothbrushing as part of morning and evening ritualized behaviors. I found it fascinating. Here are some themes that emerged:

Participants referred to toothbrushing as a habit, with:

  • absence of deliberation,
  • absence of awareness,
  • absence of mental effort,
  • absence of conscious control.

The participants said they didn’t think or decide, they just did it, without noticing much about what they were doing. This was true both in the morning and the evening, although evening rituals varied more than morning ones. The researchers found that some participants considered evening toothbrushing right after work to be a part of both physical and psychological “cleansing”, particularly after a hard day of labor.

I really like this notion of psychological cleansing as an after-work ritual. I don’t have a job involving physical labor (and I’m very grateful); but I often feel burdened and weighed down by the cares of the work day and wish for some good ways to discharge them. Even though brushing teeth isn’t as simple as it may sound, I wish that devising and settling on and maintaining an after-work-cleansing ritual were as easy as grabbing a toothbrush and toothpaste.

For years, I would cycle or walk or go to yoga class after work, and felt that refreshing, cleansing (if sweaty) feeling. Over time, however, that habit dissipated. My recent attempts at reinstituting it have had spotty success at best.

One habit I’ve managed to develop and settle and maintain over the past 3.5 years has been almost-daily meditation. My Ten Percent Happier app keeps track of all sessions and all days, down to the number of minutes I’ve been mindful. I’ve found it pretty easy to sit 25–35 days in a row, but then something invariably comes up and I miss one day. I go “Grrr!” or “sigh” and then restart.

Recently, though, I decided I was going to meditate every day. Like. every. day. As of today, I’m up to 93 days in a row. And I’m wondering, how am I doing this? Meditation isn’t like brushing your teeth. Yes, morning is a reminder to me to take some time to sit, but morning is a reminder for many many things I don’t automatically do. What’s different in this case? And what can I leverage from this pattern I’ve developed, so to apply it to other desired habits? These, dear readers, are the questions I’ll be thinking and writing more about.

Are there any ritualized habits that you have that are “like brushing your teeth”? I’d love love love to hear from you. And you’ll be hearing more from me on Sunday.

A mountain bike atop a steep butte with sheer dropoff. How to make 2024 less scary, or how to move forward anyway
challenge · fitness · Happy New Year!

How to make 2024 less scary, or how to move forward anyway

catherine w4 Comments

Why is it that 2024 seems so daunting already? Maybe it’s just me (actually I’m sure it’s not just me), but the combo of global awfulness blobbing over into this year, with more horrendousness headed our way is making me want to move somewhere quiet and get a job driving a bookmobile. Honestly, doesn’t that sound lovely?

Unsurprisingly, bookmobiles come in many different sizes and models. How nice.
Bookmobiles come in many different sizes and colors. How nice.

Big picture woes aside, I’m finding it hard to figure out my direction and goals for 2024. I got my word– COLLECTIVE– and am clear about committing to friends and family, prioritizing relationships and activities with the groups that sustain and constitute a big part of who I am. But, I feel both 1) the need to change what I’ve been doing (in particular, spend more time on physical activities and plain old exercise); and 2) that I’m finding it really hard to implement the changes that I think I want.

I’m not looking for solutions to this problem or advice here. We all know all the tricks:

  • find an exercise buddy!
  • find an exercise accountability buddy!
  • lay out exercise clothes the night before!
  • go for a ride/run/walk/swim first thing in the morning so it’ll be done and you can relax!
  • etc. etc. and so forth and so on.

Thinking about tricks, though, reminded me of Danny MacAskill, the legendary trials and downhill cyclist. You name a solid surface on the planet, he’s ridden it (and likely fallen off it; there’s no free lunch in this sport).

A few years ago, MacAskill rode a rocky downhill route on The Slabs on the Scottish Isle of Skye. Just watching the video immersed me in a range of emotions: fear, uncertainty, surprise, and also joy. I felt them in part because MacAskill conveyed that he was feeling them too, as he rode down that precarious, scary, thrilling, glorious mountain. You can read my original post from January 2021 here, but here’s my TL;DR list of how to navigate life when it gets gnarly, inspired by his ride:

  • Some experiences we embark on, or confront on our way, are going to be scary. Period.
  • Be ready to go slow. Plan the slow-downs, even.
  • Have really good brakes (e.g. listen to that inner voice or friend who says, “nah, give this one a miss”).
  • Draw on skills from different experiences and areas of training to get through. 
  • In that rare moment of beauty and grace, let yourself be with it.
  • But, what looks beautiful and effortless from the outside will often be staccato and exhausting from the inside. Notice this, too.
  • Sometimes, there’s no place to hide. Once you’ve committed, use your skills and experience to get you down the hill.
  • Life occasionally demands some serious body english from us, so be ready for some twists and turns.
  • Don’t forget to celebrate when you finish something.

Just rewatching the video made me realize that progress is possible and that progress is possible only with a lot of work. But progress IS possible. Let’s see if I can bump and screech and occasionally glide my way into a new activity routine in 2024. Leaving the trick and downhill riding to others, perhaps…

Here’s MacAskill’s Slabs ride. Enjoy.

A clipboard on a stool with a January calendar, by Kara Eads for Unsplash. More challenges Catherine is and isn’t doing
challenge · fitness

More challenges Catherine is and isn’t doing

catherine w

It’s January– in fact, only January 14– but it’s felt like a long two weeks. I wonder if that has anything to do with the number and variety of New Year’s challenges I signed up for? Hmmm. Could be.

I’m still thinking of sneaking into the Yoga with Adriene challenge, taking my seat at the back of the (virtual) class. As always with being late for things already in progress, the question is: to start at the beginning, or just jump in where they are now? Honestly, I don’t think either Adriene or Benji (her very cute dog) cares.

The Apartment Therapy challenge is coming along. No, I didn’t make a complete To-Do list for all things I need or want to do with my place (e.g. paint dining room, renovate kitchen), but I have done some clean-out of spaces and targeted a few home projects that can (theoretically) be done in an afternoon. And my plants have gotten some extra love, too.

I took on a new challenge that started January 8. Ten Percent Happier’s Imperfect Meditation Challenge is going swimmingly. For each of ten days, it features a little video chat and short (3–10 minute) meditation. Topics have included “It doesn’t have to feel great”, “Just pick one thing”, and my favorite so far, “Make friends with joy”. I liked it because it sets us all straight about what joy is and what joy isn’t. Maybe this will help, too.

Joy doesn't have to be like this. Jumping on a mountaintop against a sunset of dark pink and purple.
Joy doesn’t have to be like this.
Joy can be found in a far of good marmalade (or jam or jelly, your choice). Two pieces of toast with orange marmalade, on a wood cutting board with a jar of
Joy can be found in a jar of good marmalade (or jam/jelly, your choice).

The thing for me with challenges is to let myself be lured in, and then get interested or committed enough to continue through to the end. Also, having some flexibility is also good. The Ten Percent Happier challenge is asking us to do 10 out of 14 days, and I’m on track to do all of them.

Well, that’s interesting. Could this be because I already have a well-established meditation practice, but NOT a well-established yoga one? Why, yes. Doing the Ten Percent Happier challenge isn’t challenging for me. But Yoga with Adriene (and Benji) is.

What would be a proper January Challenge for me would be to go back my living room, turn on Yoga with Adriene (I think it doesn’t matter where), and see what it’s like to join in the middle of the month. That feels challenging. And a little intriguing.

Dear Readers, how are you doing this mid-January 2024 with whatever challenges or projects or plans you made 13 days ago? I’d love to hear about them, and promise not to be judgy (I mean, how could I, right?)

a kid's hand moving near a jenga wood tower, by Sven Brandsma, for Unsplash. After six days of New Year’s challenges, Catherine reports in
challenge · fitness · Happy New Year! · new year's resolutions · winter

After six days of New Year’s challenges, Catherine reports in

catherine w1 Comment

I’ve been doing (or at least reading about) several New Year’s challenges this week:

As expected, I haven’t adhered strictly to all of the challenges. Here are some things that are definitely didn’t happen:

Vision board (Apartment Therapy): I am so not making a vision board (no offense to anyone here who is a fan). Maybe this is because a) sorting through hundreds of choices would get me bogged down, never to emerge from the vision-bog again; and b) I sort of have a vision already, which is my place– only rearranged, edited, repaired, and repainted (a set of tasks for spring/summer/uh, whenever). The hard part is the implementation of said vision. I am continuing forward, though: I emptied out a drawer, thew out (or rather put in a box to recycle, donate or throw out, as told by Apartment Therapy) and rearranged the remaining contents. Here’s my before and after:

bathroom vanity drawer before... filled with loads of tiny toiletries and glasses and other things.
bathroom vanity drawer before…
and after. Donating hotel-acquired tiny toiletries to local shelter.
and after. Donating hotel-acquired tiny toiletries to local shelter.

Exhaustive/exhausting fitness testing (Washingon Post Tuneup): Yes, I agree that knowledge (even about my own level of fitness, etc.) is power. But, I was totally not up for working to fatigue/exhaustion/despair just because the Washington Post said so. Also, I’m extremely unhappy with their category setup for the test.

Do not EVER describe my age group as Golden. My category--
Do not EVER describe my age group as Golden.

Then, after I pushed the cheery and demeaning “Golden” button, I was told to do the following with measurements of reps and time:

  • stand on one foot
  • sit and stand from a chair
  • run or walk a mile
  • hang from a pull-up bar
  • BURPEES!

Okay, these aren’t actually bad. I might try some of them. But starting off a 5-day challenge in this way is daunting. Not so the NY Times’ Day 3 (of their 6-day energy challenge). Their assignment was this:

Over the course of three minutes, you’ll imitate a boxer, a ballerina, a tennis player, a basketball player, a runner, and, to cool down, a yoga practitioner.

This was fun. I pretended to hit a home run from my living room to across the street, imaginarily breaking windows even. The article suggested ballet moves, boxing jabs and footwork, tennis serves and returns, and basketball dribbling and layups (which I never quite got in gym class, but it matters not). I enjoyed myself, and it was a satisfying little exercise amuse-bouche. Yes, exercise snacking is approved by all sorts of health writers on the internet, and there’s some scientific evidence in its favor. I’ll write more about exercise snacking in a future post, but if you need some info now, here’s a graphic explanation from this paper:

Graphic showing sedentary behavior, then cycling, running, etc. then cardiovascular fitness, blood glucose level drop and increased vascular fitness
I mean, who needs to read a journal article when you have this? Well, there are a few details undepicted…

And then there’s Flow: 30 Days of Yoga with Adriene. I did day 0, which involved listening. But I haven’t done any of days 1–5 yet.

I'm embarrassed. This isn't me, but some lovely photo by Dmitri Ratushny, whose picture is a perfect representation of my feelings about this. It shows a woman outside, with her mittin-covered hands
I’m embarrassed. Thanks Dmitri Ratushny, who perfectly illustrated my feelings here (Unsplash).

I don’t know why I never seem to get around to doing Yoga with Adriene. I like Adriene, I like yoga, and I like her dog Benji. But instead of making a commitment to it and setting aside time each day, I just sort of hoped I would spontaneously start doing yoga with Adriene. It doesn’t seem to work that way, though.

On the other hand, I didn’t have to think at all about making a commitment to the writing/art prompts for Suleika Jaouad’s Rumi New Year’s challenge. I’m one day behind, but am steadily plowing through them all. They are behind a series of paywalls, but here is a screen shot of them:

All of these prompts are the first lines from Rumi poetry, and we use them to write or draw something. I'm up to Jan 5 today (Sunday).
All of these prompts are the first lines from Rumi poetry, and we use them to write or draw something inspired by them.

My lack of art training doesn’t keep me from using my set of multicolored felt tip pens to doodle and noodle and swirl and dot and connect the dots and fill in to my heart’s content. It is so. much. fun. There’s no pressure to perform or attain any level of achievement. All I do is play and enjoy playing. Which, come to think of it, is what I enjoyed about pretending to be a baseball player or ballerina for 3 minutes. There are no expectations, no criteria, and no judging.

So, here’s my January challenge for you, dear readers: schedule in some pretend-activities, which are in fact activities in themselves. You can pretend to be a dancer, a dog, a great artist, an interior designer, a chef, a novelist, a musician, singer, neighborhood explorer, hot-tub swimmer, flower/house-plant arranger. No pressure. No before/after photos. No personal bests. Just fun.

You might take inspiration from this jaunty little yellow frog, who showed up in my search for “challenging”. Maybe it’s not easy being yellow, but it looks great on this little cutie. And January can look great on you, too.

Hey there, cutie-pie! And thanks, Jeffrey Hamilton for taking this pic (Unsplash). A lovely yellow frog on a dark green leaf.
Hey there, cutie-pie! And thanks, Jeffrey Hamilton, for taking this pic. (Unsplash)
Discernment Is My 2024 Challenge
challenge · WOTY

Discernment Is My 2024 Challenge

Mina1 Comment

The first thing I did on January 1, 2024 was climb up a mountain with a friend. A little more than four hours on snow and ice in very cold, grey conditions. When we got back to the car, I couldn’t even manage to click the car remote to unlock the doors, my hands were so frozen. And it was glorious to open the year in nature, in the vigor of my body (which has not always been a given this year), with a challenge and great company.

Frozen waterfall on Mt Mansfield
Mina on Mt Mansfield
Mt Mansfield Trail

2023 was its own mountain and as much as I love mountains, I’m hoping that 2024 will bring fewer tears and fears and more ease and flow.

Every year (as many of you do, no doubt, and many of us here at Fit Is a Feminist Issue) I choose a WOTY (here’s last year).  Sometimes the word is aspirational and other years it is a beacon. This year it is the latter—a lighthouse to indicate the shoals, when I fall out of alignment with its intent; and a north star to guide my speech, actions and spirit.

My word is going to be DISCERNMENT. I had a lot of resistance to my WOTY last year, which was WELCOME, because, well, the year was even harder than I anticipated when I chose the word. Now, heading into another opportunity for a reset, I wanted to find a word that was neither overwhelming, as last year’s word felt at times (when I hadn’t just blocked the whole word from my mind), nor punitive. I say that because my first potential word for this year was FRUGAL. Oof. That felt like punishment and deprivation. And yet, I want to capture the intention I have going into 2024, to be more conscious of the choices I’m making. In particular, yes, the financial decisions I make, since my situation post-break up is radically different than it was when I was with my partner. I wrote about the results of those relationship choices in My Fit Feminism Is a Fraud.

Last year was also a no-shopping for clothes year (that was my annual challenge, which I usually have, in addition to my WOTY), so I didn’t want a word that doubled down on 2023. Which brings me to DISCERNMENT. A word that feels more about choices, all my choices, from how I spend my money, to how I spend my time and with whom. I feel, too, the grace in this word and I’m looking forward to exploring that aspect. And, how lucky that I have an accountability partner in Tracy, co-founder of this community. I’m hoping that having her company will help me with the alignment I had trouble with last year, as my 2023 word kept falling out of my mind.

As for my annual challenge (not a resolution!), I’m going to use my word as my challenge. For example, I’ve signed up for Home Exchange, which will enable me to go places that might not otherwise be in my budget. And, after a year without new clothes, shoes or accessories, I want to work on easing back into shopping with discernment, too. The last time I ended a no-shopping year, I was back to my old shopping habits more quickly than I would have liked. I’d like to do better this time. Starting, for example, with much more vintage and second time around, not only to be mindful of my spending, but also to be mindful of the environmental impact of my love of clothing and shoes.

And yes, I did shop on January 1 (while I drank my hot chocolate after the arduous hike) and I’ll admit that I’m excited to wear a new-to-me pair of black jeans and cozy sweater!   

challenge · eating · fitness · habits · Happy New Year! · motivation

Resolution, challenge, or adventure?

Sam B3 Comments

Happy New Year!

Did you make any resolutions, set yourself some new challenges, or plan some adventures?

What’s in a word? I’ve been thinking lots about adventures lately and how much the word, adventure, resonates with me. It’s my Word of the Year even.

But there’s also the contrast between the language of resolution, challenge, and adventure.

The pasta quest post above certainly hit a nerve with our fit feminist community on Facebook. I shared it there, and nearly 500 people liked it. Many reshared it. One of those people was my friend Todd Tyrtle.

On his own Facebook page Todd wrote, “Last week I listened to Lee Craigie and Jenny Graham talking on a podcast and they said something I really liked. They talked about the how calling something an “adventure” can have a totally different feel to calling it a “challenge”. A challenge implies investment in an outcome. A pushup challenge likely means a total number, or the ability to do so many at a time. People do weightloss challenges, writing challenges. And the thing about doing a challenge means there’s a chance of failure. You don’t do enough pushups, ride far enough, or finish a novel in November. An adventure is something different entirely. An adventure can be a long walk, a new recipe, a bicycle tour or learning a new language. You may or may not have the outcome you expect. Instead you’re expecting interesting things to happen.

My challenge to you in 2024…

Wait…

The *adventure* I suggest for you as we approach the new year is to consider taking on more adventures and fewer challenges and resolution. Like Pasta Quest!”

Here is the link to the podcast: https://www.spindrift-podcast.co.uk/episodes/adventure-syndicate-sourcetosea

At about 15:55 is where they start talking about adventures, and about 17:15 in is where they talk about the difference between an adventure and a challenge.

I find I’m often thinking in more adventure terms these days.

I like the idea of trying one new fitness thing a month for 2024. That resonates because during my knee surgery recovery I was so focused on physiotherapy and personal training, everything else dropped away. I feel ready to broaden my fitness horizons again.

Or taking Cheddar to a new park every week for a dog hike. The larger goal there is getting to know the surrounding area better.

A friend, maybe it was the blog’s Diane?, mentioned reading a book each month from a different country.

I also like food adventures. Maybe not pasta quest but something that would get me trying new fruits and vegetables. Perhaps trying a new fruit or veggie every time I get groceries. Or trying a recipe from a different country every week.

I’ve got a friend who has the goal of camping in all of Ontario’s provincial parks. That might be fun, too.

And then there are the people making art with Strava maps of their bike rides. I like this one.

Strava map of Santa

How about you? I’m curious to know if thinking in terms of challenges, resolutions, or adventures makes a difference in your mindset. I’m also curious if there are any adventures in your future. Let us know in the comments below.

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Yoga with Adriene Flow challenge Shopping for a 2024 challenge? How about Yoga with Adriene with us?
challenge · fitness

Shopping for a 2024 challenge? How about Yoga with Adriene with us?

catherine w

Full disclosure: I’ve signed up for this challenge at least five times, and I have never made it past day four. Why? Because challenges are easy to sign up for, and easy to forget about/not take seriously/stroll away from. Which is totally fine.

This year, though, I’m adopting a different stance towards New Year’s challenges. I’ve signed up for various Wellness challenges, including the New York Times 6-day Energy Challenge (not sure what this means, but what the hey), and the Washington Post 5-day Tuneup (does this mean I have to improve faster?) I’ll be reporting back on what transpired (and didn’t).

I’m also signed up for the 2024 Yoga with Adriene 30-day Flow Challenge. You may be wondering: if I’ve never made it very far into the challenge, why sign up this year? Here are some of my reasons:

First, my 2024 word is Collective, which means that I’m noting and acting on the fact that I get a lot of enjoyment (and accomplishment, too) from moving as part of a group. Several of the FIFI bloggers have done this challenge for several years now, and I’m joining them intentionally. Note: joining doesn’t mean forcing myself to perform in the same way; to me it means being part of the crowd, doing parts of the challenge in my way and sharing in the experience with them (albeit virtually).

Second, I’m taking a page out of Samantha’s exercise playbook: she’s often written about how she’ll create an aspirational activity list, and will do as many of the items on her list as her schedule and energy and life allow. I’m going to try this. It feels to me like commitment lite, involving planning and acknowledging that it’s important, but not adopting a do-or-die attitude towards any particular activity.

Third, I admit it: I really love official reset occasions. Several of us who are academics have written about our love of bright shiny new school years. So we get two New Years: one in September and one in January. Yay! I’m going to ride the renewal wave and see how far it takes me.

Finally, I’ve learned a lot about commitment and challenges and the value of restarts and pushing through from my meditation practice. I’ve been sitting almost every day for 3+ years now, and keeping track of my meditation sessions with my Ten Percent Happier app. I’ve experienced stretches of up to 150 days (once), and also have reset 48 times (I know this because it shows 48 three-day streaks). As of today, I’m on a 62-day streak. Will I miss a day in future? Absolutely. What will I do then? Restart and keep going, of course…

So bring on the 2024 challenges– I’m curious to try them out.

Wanna join us? We’d love to hear from you.

challenge · fitness · habits · Happy New Year! · motivation

It’s January 1st, change everything now!

Sam B1 Comment

Yikes. Geesh.

‘Tis the season for completely, wildly, depressingly unrealistic (and highly gendered) new year ambitions.

There are so many ads in my social media newsfeeds for programs, books, coaching, and support groups, all aimed at changing my life. The changes are so many and so big that they almost (ALMOST) make me nostalgic for the days when it was all about weight loss. I mean, that was also unrealistic and ultimately depressing, but at least it was just one goal.

Now they are all about SLEEP, and MEDITATION, and READING, and EXERCISE, and NUTRITION, and NATURE, and GRATITUDE, and SOCIAL CONNECTIONS, and SKINCARE, and even DECLUTTERING.

Don’t forget also to DRINK ALL THE WATER MANY TIMES A DAY!

The Greatness App, for example, tracks your daily routine including making your bed in the morning, disconnecting from social media at night, bathing and skincare, eating healthy meals, meditating and getting enough sleep.

There’s also the whole Girl Gotta Change line of planners, diaries, and workbooks that include health and fitness, lifestyle and wellness, and academic goals.

The Lasting Change personalized planner is also all over my newsfeed. I was skeptical as soon as gender with MALE/FEMALE/OTHER appeared as the first question in the personalization process. Again, it all seems a bit much.

Here’s a typical suggested morning routine (but you can alter it to suit you):

Build a morning routine to cherish your loved one

It’s not that I don’t think these are all good areas in which we can make positive changes in our lives–and certainly they’re better than weight loss–but I do think it can be overwhelming to tackle ALL OF THEM AT ONCE.

Also, it’s missing key aspects of my life, like frantically doing a Duolingo lesson in bed just before midnight to avoid losing a streak, or laying in bed trying to solve Wordle before getting up and making coffee. Joking, I know, but only sort of.

I know I’m not their target market. I’m older, nearly 60!, and I’m not just starting out and establishing my routine. Still, even Young Me would have found this a Bit Much.

How about you? Do you find the new year a useful restart, a helpful blank page, as Tracy put it recently? Do you like the focus on daily habits and routines? The thing is I like them too one at a time. Like many of us here, I’ve tried the getting outside for 20 minutes a day challenge and I liked its effect on my life. I’ve done some impressive (to me) meditation streaks. But the idea of a day structured by these goals and plans seems to lack enough spontaneity for me, especially if you take them all on at once.

Also, a confession, dear friends and readers, I’ve never had a skincare routine.

Anyway, let me know what you think? Do you find these plans inspirational and motivational or exhausting and overwhelming?

time for change sign with led light
Time for Change. Photo by Alexas Fotos on Pexels.com