Welcome to the Challenge!
As Fall arrives, change is in the air, so what better time to think about changing your life than now! Our ONE THING Challenge presents an opportunity to pick just ONE THING you would like to work on over the next three months. Perhaps it’s a habit you want to break or a new one you want to adopt, a better way to manage stress, a fresh perspective on a stale relationship or feeling better in your own skin. It could be anything!
Now, think about what you think about this ONE THING and why it's important. Will it improve your health or give your career a boost? Is it something you've always wanted to do but never had the time? Will it improve your self-esteem or help move you to a new level of self-awareness?
Figure out your reason, then ask yourself what's getting in the way of you having it. Do you need more knowledge because it's a new endeavor? Does it seem too hard or unpleasant? Do you put off doing it because you don't think you have time? Do other things/people come first?
The Power of our Thoughts
More often than not, our thoughts take on a tone of punishment or beating ourselves up for not being able to do something. And, usually, these statements are lies that we tell ourselves. This self-defeating pattern, especially for women, has become ingrained in our psyches. The "shoulds" and "ought to's" turn our dreams into dreaded chores, and who wants to do more chores?!
But with this challenge, our goal is to help you live your dreams, reach your goals, and have fun doing it. So ... take those sabotaging thoughts & turn them into positive statements that inspire you to believe in yourself and your ability to move forward. Find the truths that lurk behind the lies. "It seems too hard" turns into "I'm capable of doing hard things" or "I do many things every day that are harder than this." Something like, "I don't have time" becomes, "I can find one hour in my week, even if it's 10 minutes at a time, because my dream is important to me."
Making This Challenge Work for YOU!
Doing the work of this challenge is simple, but that doesn't mean it will be easy. It's simple because it really focuses you on ONE THING - hence the name. But it requires commitment and the willingness to be honest with yourself and come face-to-face with what makes your ONE THING a challenge.
It all comes down to our thoughts and how powerful they can be in holding us back or moving us forward. For those of you who are visual, here is a sample Thought Map for you to identify the self-defeating thoughts that might be getting in your way and turning them, instead, into those positive truths that can spur you onward. (If you like it, head over to our Dare to Dream Facebook page & find a blank in the files section.)
Think Better, Be Better
Can you see how the positive truths feel encouraging and empowering? And all you've done is change your thoughts! By raising your awareness of your own self-defeating thoughts, you CAN identify better ways of framing the messages you tell yourself and make it a habit to change course by practicing saying these to yourself instead. Pin your Thought Map to the wall, tape it to your bathroom mirror or keep it close in a journal or notebook to remind you to turn those thoughts around.
Pretty soon, changing your thoughts and beliefs WILL get you closer and closer to achieving your ONE THING!
And we'll be rooting for you every step of the way! Follow along on our Facebook page for live videos every Tuesday, and to make it fun, we've put together some fun giveaways for those of you who join the challenge and participate with us. How do you do this? Post your ONE THING and share status updates with us on the page, or simply stay in touch by encouraging others and providing feedback and love to those who share their journeys with all of us.
We can't wait to see where we'll all be by the end of the year just by changing our thoughts and developing habits of belief, love and care for ourselves and others. Thanks for being on this adventure with us!