Forget New Year's resolutions and dare yourself a handful of challenges to create more memorable and doable experiences and impact change.
Resolutions are very last year. Make a list, don’t do the list. It’s a rinse-and-repeat cycle that’s closer to year-end comfort food than to an authentic set of goals.
Oftentimes, New Year’s promises and to-dos are nothing more than a list of unfulfilled promises we make to ourselves.
Instead of quitting smoking or going to the gym, or other stereotypical notepad line items, try daring yourself to take simple little steps instead.
A dare is a challenge that requires action, instead, and needs a different mindset altogether.
Instead of a checklist, you will be creating experiences for yourself. New kindness habits, trying new food, learning something new or simply something naught to get out of the humdrum of a comfort zone. Novelty keeps the mind engaged, and dares to deliver that.
Dare yourself some kindness
It’s got to be something bold that is somewhat out of character. Pay for someone’s breakfast or coffee randomly, start a conversation with someone you’d normally never talk to and compliment them.
Offer someone a pair of hands where you’d normally avoid helping.
Every time you do this, take a pic, write a short note, and over time, feel the impact on your character.
Try a new taste every month
Treat your taste buds and challenge your habits. Explore at least one new food every month that you either dare yourself to order in a restaurant or, learn to cook at home.
If certain veggies creep you out, challenge yourself to try at least one. Have you never tasted Japanese Drum Cakes? Find a recipe and get poaching. Buy some mielies from the vendor at the intersection.
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Document life for a month
This dare is about noticing life, real life, and situational awareness. Take a picture every day for a month, of things around you that you notice.
Perhaps, because you will be looking for subject matter, you may encounter things for the first time. Things that may have always been there, you just never picked up on them.
Think the beggar on the side of the road, the skewed street light, the hairdresser’s smile when she clips your locks. Anything that may otherwise pass you by.
Visit one new place every month
Twelve new spots in a year. That’s the dare. And it’s not about an exotic island getaway or some European trip.
It’s about finding something that may stimulate you, whether it’s a new neighbourhood, a historical site an hour away or simply any environment that’s different.
Break the routine, refresh your perceptions.
New skills outside your comfort zone
It could be a fun dare, and you do not have to be good at it. But what about learning pottery, even if you have two left hands? Woodwork counts for the same. Learn how to dance even if you have no rhythm or go snorkelling despite not liking it much.
Small skills learnt, big impacts. Try to do at least one of these every three months.
Ditch your device
Dare yourself to forget your phone in the kitchen and play chess for an hour, start a journal, do whatever it takes just to divorce yourself from your phone for a bit. Just an hour, every day.
Nature and meditation
Meditation does not have to be done in any prescribed manner. You can get lost in your mind and find a still point in the shower, in bed, driving or just chilling in the garden.
Dare yourself to do this at least once a week, then daily. And it only has to be a few minutes. Listen to your inner voice. You’ll be glad you did.
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