Monthly Health Challenge for June 2012!

WHAT ARE MONTHLY HEALTH CHALLENGES?

These health challenges are designed to empower you to create health in your life.  Anyone is welcome to join at any time, and the challenges are absolutely free!  What do you have to lose?  The winner of the challenge will reign on the Health Royalty page of this blog as the king or queen for the following month until the next challenge winner is chosen.  Email me or leave a comment below to let me know you've joined!

June's monthly health challenge is a fun one, and is brought to you with this quote in mind:

Goals are dreams with deadlines. 

~Diana Scharf Hunt

Too often, we don't allow ourselves to dream out of fear of failure.  What if we believed in ourselves enough to speak our dreams and follow them through to accomplishment and possibility?  It's not too far fetched, we just don't allow it.

Here is June's monthly health challenge:

CREATE A HEALTH GOAL AND STICK TO IT!

WHY?

Anyone participating in this challenge has made a conscience decision to create health in his/her life.  Congratulations!  If you don't know WHY you want to get healthy, you should identify that before choosing your goal.  Is it because you have dreamed of fitting into one seat on an airplane comfortably, crossing your legs for the first time in years, riding bikes with your kids, playing with trains on the floor with your toddler, or are you working to avoid hereditary diseases or are you at-risk for diseases like diabetes or heart disease?  Whatever your "WHY" is, here are a few questions to ask yourself to sharpen your focus and empower you to reach your optimal health goals:

1. What does your picture of optimal health look like?
2. How will you know you reached your goal?
3. Do you have an open mind to accept your own success?
4. What event led you to your choice to become healthy?

Use this goal challenge to move one step in the direction of your optimal health goal.  Choose a goal that closely aligns with your WHY.

CHOOSING YOUR GOAL:

The key components to choosing any goal is to use the SMART acronym:

Choose something that you can't do right now, but that you want to accomplish that promotes your overall health - whether big or small.

Don't choose a goal like "lose 20 pounds,"  instead your goal should be something like "I will drink half my body weight in ounces of water every day and stop eating fast food for at least the next month."  Choosing to lose weight is a great goal if you are not at your healthy weight, but it may be unrealistic to expect a particular number on the scale.  If you lose 19.8 pounds in the next month, you will have done a great job, but you won't have made your goal.  Will you be upset and continue to work at achieving your goal?  Probably not.  Let's face it: goals like that become expectations.  Those expectations walk away with our dreams sometimes.  That's why avoiding fast food and drinking water for 30 days is achievable and realistic, and a better goal. 

EXAMPLES:

Here are some other great health goals:

• I will eat at least three servings of vegetables daily for at least the next 30 days.
• I will do 10 push-ups every day for at least the next 30 days.
• I will walk up three stairs every day for at least the next 30 days.
• I will allow myself at least 8 hours of sleep and rest for at least the next 30 days.
• I will not eat food from a can or a box for at least the next 30 days.
• I will drink at least 64 ounces of water every day for at least the next 30 days.
• I will meditate for 10 minutes every day to relieve my stress for at least the next 30 days.
• I will park in the farthest parking spot from the store for at least the next 30 days.
• I will take the stairs to work for at least the next 30 days.
• I will garden one hour per week for at least the next 30 days.
• I will bench press 50 pounds by the end of June.
• I will take a walk on my lunch break at least three times per week for at least the next 30 days.

ACCOUNTABILITY:

The other component to any goal is accountability.  There is no measure for the value of a friend to keep you motivated through your journey.  Not only that, but your friend needs a friend too - we all need each other!  So, find a health buddy, share your WHYs and your goals and encourage each other to continue dreaming of the rewards of their success!  Use your health coach as your health buddy if you have one.  If you don't have a health buddy or health coach, please email me or comment below and I will be your health buddy.  As a health coach, I am a professional health buddy! 

I can't wait to see who June's challenge king or queen is!  It could be you!

Let me know you joined the challenge by sending me your health goal for June by email at HealthyandFitLife@gmail.com. 

Happy healthing!