Entering Your Winter Arc | How to Have a Balanced Winter Arc Challenge
A new challenge circling throughout the fitness, habit, and productivity sphere is creating quite a buzz throughout our social spaces. This challenge is about hunkering down, creating and reaching health, productivity, and self-improvement goals, and doing everything possible to complete your goals. But here's the kicker: this challenge typically occurs during the winter, from October 1st through January 1st. Enter the Winter Arc challenge. I'll be honest, I've only heard of this challenge recently, as it's a social media trend, and I'm not the one for much social media action. However, in Texas, where the temperature typically begins to drop for winter in January and February, many may not have started the challenge, are just getting started, or have never even heard of the challenge.
With any challenge within the health and fitness industry, a certain degree of caution should occur. So many fitness fads and trends surface around this time of the year to ride off our emotions during the New Year for our New Year resolutions and goals. But they're often met with disappointment when we don't meet the rigid guidelines of the challenge. However, the Winter Arc challenge is different from the other trendy challenges, as there don't appear to be strict guidelines, and you create your own unique set of goals based on your individual fitness, productivity, and habit improvement needs. However, before you begin this challenge, here are a few tips to help guide you through a healthier Winter Arc challenge if you choose to embark on this challenge during your winter months.
Tip 1. Understand why you want to start this challenge. Begin by asking yourself why you want to begin this challenge. Knowing your why can help you better understand your mindset for wanting to do this challenge and determine if it is the right one for you. There are many great reasons to join this challenge; you want improvement in some area. You may have a difficult time sticking with your health goals during the winter months. There's something about waking up in the wee hours of a cold winter morning, leaving from underneath your warm cushy blankets, and hopping in a cold car (if not in a garage) to face the winter elements to go to the gym makes it very difficult to stick to a winter workout plan. Or maybe you get more relaxed about your goals during the winter months, and you would like to see yourself push through your goals during the winter and become more consistent. Or maybe you tend to succumb to the festivities during the holidays and let it all go, and you want to do things differently this year. There are many reasons why you may choose this challenge, but make sure you're not doing it for a quick-fix solution to reach all your goals at once. So, it's best to gain a clear understanding of why you're embarking on this challenge and make sure you keep things in a healthy and balanced perspective.
Tip 2. Focus on building habits instead of aiming only to achieve goals. This may sound confusing as we all want to achieve our goals; however, this challenge is only meant to last for 90 days, and some habits are less likely to stick around afterward. Try to focus on building solid behavior changes that will surpass the 90-day Winter Arc challenge. For example, you may have a Winter Arc goal to drink 64 ounces of water per day each week. This goal may be an unrealistic goal for many, as going from only drinking half a bottle of water per day to drinking 64 ounces of water per day may be difficult. Instead, try aiming for a realistic behavior change goal for water intake, such as aiming to drink 5 ounces of water each hour by the end of the workday for the first 30 days of the challenge. For the next 30 to 60 days, aim to increase your water intake within each 30 days. Instead of looking to achieve an unrealistic momentous goal, consider making bite-size behavior changes until you can effectively reach your goals.
“A failure is not always a mistake; it may simply be the best one can do under the circumstances. The real mistake is to stop trying.”
Tip 3. Conquer your all-or-nothing thinking. In short, all-or-nothing thinking is an absolutist and irrational thought pattern that takes place when a person throws away their entire goal or plan when they do not meet their established planned goal. For example, you made a goal to drink three bottles of water per day while at work, but you glimpse at your watch and notice it's now 3 pm, and you still have three full bottles of water remaining. Instead of attempting to drink the first bottle of water, you simply do away with the entire goal and choose not to drink any of the three bottles of water while at work. With this irrational thought process, you've determined that the goal is as good as gone since you haven't started or accomplished the entire established goal. There will be many days during the Winter Arc challenge where you will not meet one single goal, complete one single habit, or perform one productive action; however, there is always a point where you can meet the goal somewhere in the middle instead of giving up entirely.
If you choose to undertake the Winter Arc challenge, remember the tips to determine your motivations and your mindset, focus on building habits instead of achieving unrealistic goals, and conquer any absolutist, all-or-nothing thinking. I suggest using this challenge more so to remain focused on your health and self-improvement goals throughout the winter. Hopefully, these tips will help you through the challenge while keeping it in proper perspective. Remember to aim for long-term lifestyle and behavior changes and to keep a balanced outlook while embarking on the Winter Arc challenge.
Until next time, be true, balanced, and well.