Unlock A Renewed You: The Power of Short-Term Health Challenges for Lasting Habits

In November, I (Rebecca) competed in a 21-day challenge at the yoga studio I attend. The challenge was to participate in 21 classes in 21 days. You could miss a day, but you had to make it up on another day.  Given that I had just gotten back into yoga after years away, I imagined this would be a motivating way to reignite my attendance. 

Not only did I successfully finish the challenge, I tried new classes I wouldn’t have tried otherwise, met new people, and had fun. The consistency also helped me improve my flexibility and feel better overall. 

I have to admit I have a love-hate relationship with short-term challenges.  On the one hand, they can be motivating. On the other hand, because they are designed for a limited period, it’s easy to make significant behavior changes, only to slip back into old behaviors when the challenge is over. Also, some challenges promote unsustainable behavior changes that don’t help support a long-term healthful lifestyle. However, understanding your goal for participating in a challenge can be a great way to kick-start a new routine and reap other benefits.

At Rumblings, we’ve conducted challenges like our 31-Day Commit to Connect Challenge, Move in May Challenge, 7-Day National Send a Card to a Friend Challenge, and Fruit and Veggie Challenge to kick-start a behavior change and reap benefits. We also have produced resources like our 90-Day Protein and Vision Journals to help women do the daily work to build healthier lifestyles.

The concept of a 21-day health challenge is often rooted in the idea that it takes approximately 21 days to form a new habit.

While the exact duration for habit formation varies among individuals, participating in a time-limited health challenge can help you:

• Kickstart Healthier Choices: A short-term challenge can jumpstart a healthier habit. It provides an opportunity to break free from unhealthy routines and kickstart positive changes in areas like eating healthier, increasing movement, and prioritizing self-care. Make sure that any challenge you undertake promotes a change you can maintain over time. 

• Increase Awareness: Participating in a challenge helps you to become more aware of your lifestyle choices, including dietary habits, physical activity levels, and overall wellness. This heightened awareness can lead to more informed and healthier decision-making.

• Experience Quick Results: A short-term challenge can yield noticeable results within a relatively brief timeframe. It can motivate and reinforce the positive impact of your choices, helping you stay committed to your goals.

• Build Accountability and Community: Challenges often come with a built-in support system, whether through a group, online community, or accountability partner. The shared commitment and encouragement from others can boost motivation and help you stay accountable to your health goals.

• Gain Momentum: Completing a short-term health challenge creates a sense of accomplishment and builds positive momentum. The momentum you create can be leveraged to tackle more ambitious health and wellness goals over the long term.

• Change Behaviors: The challenge can prompt you to modify your behavior.  Whether quitting a bad habit, adopting a new workout routine, or improving nutrition, a time-limited structure helps you focus on one change.

• Enhanced Discipline: A challenge period can support you in building consistency, discipline, and routine in sticking to your health-related commitments. A 21-day challenge is sufficient time to establish a routine. Routines provide structure and make it easier to incorporate healthy practices into your daily life consistently.

• Take a risk: A challenge can be the spark you need to try something you’ve been thinking about but haven’t yet committed. It’s that nudge to take the first step. 

It's important to note that the effectiveness of a time-limited health challenge can vary depending on individual preferences, goals, and the specific nature of the challenge. Sustainable, long-term health improvements often require ongoing commitment beyond the initial challenge period, but a challenge could be the spark you need to get started.

You don’t have to wait for someone else to host a challenge.

Consider challenging yourself to an end-of-year 21- or 30-day challenge like:

• Getting 10,000 steps a day

• Abstaining from alcohol

• Getting to bed at 10:00 p.m. every night

• Meditating for 10 minutes every day

• Stretching before bed

• Eating a minimum of 25 grams of fiber a day

• Getting a minimum of 30 grams of protein at every meal 

• Limiting your screen time to 60-minutes or less each day

Think about a habit you’ve been hoping to change. Create a time-limited personal challenge to reignite a healthier habit as you enter the new year. A couple of additional tips are to make it something relatively easy, specific in terms of what you will do on a particular day time, and in a pre-determined manner. There is no reason to wait another 30 days to get started. Now is the perfect time to challenge yourself and start the year on a new and improved path.