2018 Gratefuls 39 and 38

Sweet Mother of Divine Jesus, where is the year going to? About five times this week alone I’ve mentioned people in passing, only to add a caveat that I haven’t seen them so far in 2018. And it’s nearly May. Then, on the flip side, I’m planning on meeting people as far forward as next February. Something is a little skewed in my world. In an effort to take back some control, I decided to find some way of dragging out the next, say, six weeks. I wanted to mark each day with something solid. I could, of course, have set a goal of writing 500 words or walking 5km or avoiding carbs. But why be so easy on myself?

I’ve signed up for the WLC – and for some reason, I have real trouble remembering what WLC stands for. Let me check …. again. Yes, Whole Life Challenge. The marketing blurb certainly hits its target:

With just a nudge (and a little bit of effort), you can have the life you want — happy, healthy, active, energetic, and connected.
You can wake up every day excited for what’s ahead. The journey from here to there is not necessarily easy (but it is possible for anyone who is willing to commit to the effort).

It requires small steps, repeated time after time.
And it requires just a few habits. (We think 7.) And we won’t teach you those habits. Not exactly.

We’ll show them to you.
And you’ll decide, one by one, if they’re right for your life. And after the Challenge is over, you’ll choose for yourself — is this how you want to live?
Do you want to be rested and well-fed, active and limber, fit and hydrated, less stressed and more connected? We think you do.

And so we created the Whole Life Challenge. To help you get there.
Because ultimately, we believe in you — and in your power to change your life for the better.

They had me at rested. I’d like to wake up one morning and feel like I’ve had some sleep. Not too much to ask, is it? Anyway, I forked out my €49 and signed up. Starting today, and for the next six weeks, I have to develop these 7 habits and account for my actions. No matter that I’m the only person who will see the score, I’m competitive enough to make even that competitive. I could have joined a team, but I’m not in the mood to socialise.

I have to:

  • Be active for 10 minutes
  • Stretch for 10  minutes
  • Sleep for 7 hours (personal target – I’d prefer it to be 10 but I’m trying to be realistic)
  • Drink 64 oz of water (their calculation based on weight)

And here I hit a stumbler because my Ayurveda chap says I shouldn’t be drinking much water at all. And for every article on the web saying drink the damn stuff, another says don’t. But I’ll try and see….

  • Complete a practice to help me feel happier and more connected

Another stumbler…am not getting the connection between happiness and being connected… not these days… but will see

  • Reflect each day on how the day went – in writing
  • Eat food from my food list

I’m doing the kick-start programme (you get a choice of three levels) because I’m so bad. I got though one of the two pages of what I can eat before I hit a NO! and it all looks doable. And it doesn’t say anything about how big that one glass of wine can be. Relief. And there are bonus points, mulligans, rest days, and indulgence days. It’s a real game. And I’m playing all by myself.

Although I detest exercise, can’t be arsed stretching, don’t like watching what I eat, prefer wine to water, and am not in the mood to be connected, I’m feeling rather pumped about all of this. It will certainly mark my days and perhaps even slow down time a little. And for this, I’d be doubly grateful.

 

3 Responses

  1. I’m not sure that I’m very bothered whether you drink one or two bottles of wines each night………what is more interesting is …….are these practices working for you and helping?

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