We welcome a new year with open arms and we are so ready to make 2023 an awesome year! If you want to start the year by giving yourself a challenge (that you can keep!) you’ll find seven different ones below that you can be inspired by.
January can feel a bit depressing – the Christmas holiday is coming to an end, the wallet is empty after all the Christmas gift shopping and there is a whole year left until we get to celebrate Christmas and New Year again… But think again! Change gloomy to cheerful and make January a really fun month where you challenge yourself. Remember that it’s so much more fun with a challenge that you can actually complete, set a realistic and sustainable goal!
1. White month
How wonderful is it to start a new year with a detox? Take a break from alcohol and drive on a white month. Not only will your health thank you, you’ll save a lot of money by not drinking. Here you can read about ten celebrities who have chosen to give up alcohol and why they did it.
2. Training challenge
Maybe “start working out” is on your list of New Year’s resolutions or do you want to take your training to the next level? A training challenge can be to start training at lunch or to try a completely new form of training. Do you always do yoga, perhaps your challenge could be to try two new forms of exercise before the end of the month – why not dance and boxing?
3. Read a book
When you read a good book, it’s like suddenly finding yourself in a new world. Instead of scrolling through your social media half an hour before bedtime, you can pick up a book that you think looks good. Challenge yourself to replace the scrolling on your smartphone and read the book before February starts – lie down in a warm bath, read on the bus on the way to work or curl up on the sofa. Reading also has a number of health benefits!
4. Try a new winter sport
January is a real winter month with cold and (usually!) a lot of snow. Make the most of the weather and try a winter sport. Could it be that you take your partner and go ice skating after work or take a weekend day trip to a ski resort? An extra fun challenge can, for example, be to try snowboarding if you normally ski – and vice versa!
5. Go on a trip
Let’s be realistic, maybe you just took vacation days and need to be present at work. But let’s not forget that the weekends are made for a smaller trip! You don’t have to go to the other side of the globe to get a holiday feeling – take a drive to the nearest city and experience something new or visit a friend who lives in another city. The challenge could be to go away on three smaller trips during the month of January, admit this is a really fun challenge?
6. Learn something new
Buy a language dictionary and challenge yourself to learn X number of new words of your choice or take an evening class to learn how to write poetry. We all have something on our bucket list that aims to try and learn something new, so what could be better than seizing the opportunity at the beginning of a new year?
7. Take it easy!
You probably immediately question the title and wonder how this can be a challenge. But let’s face it – our daily routines can sometimes feel stressful when we have to perform at work, find time to spend with family and friends while we have to keep the house clean and save money for vacations, for example. Whew! Challenge yourself to do absolutely nothing! Start setting aside some time each day to do something that makes you relax. You need a quiet moment to give yourself new and wonderful energy!
Read also: 6 things you can do right now to get the new year off to a good start.
