I've been hinting at a game, lately, and have decided to launch it- even if not yet fully formed. After all, everything is a bit of an experiment and I'd love all of you to be part of the learning experience.
Essentially, the game is this: You are trying to gain points everyday through doing an activity that is above and beyond your usual duties. These activities are in line with resilience and happiness principles and, although uncomplicated, have been shown to be very effective.
The exercise will take 10 weeks to complete (because it takes about 9.5 weeks to set a new habit) and it's my hope that you will let me know what you've done.
I'll commit to doing something everyday and tweeting/facebooking my findings. I'll also be blogging about the types of activities and why they are important.
As a starter, I've compiled the following activities to choose from:
Gratitude: Listing one gratitude publicly (eg Facebook/Twitter) or stating/writing three privately. 10 points
Act of Kindness: One act of kindness to familiar or stranger: 10 points
Good eating: A day of eating really good, healthy food: 10 points
Exercise: Doing exercise: 10 points
Starting, resuming or maintaining a good habit: 10 points (note *effort below)
Consciously engaging in a stress management technique: 10 points
Finding space, meditating, relaxing or taking time out: 10 points
Making social contact: 10 points
Reappraising a negative situation: 10 points
Admitting an error/ apologising/ taking responsibility for a mistake/forgiving someone: 10 points
Consciously engaging in experiencing positive emotions (savouring, joy, pleasure): 10 points
*Effort: For something that requires a lot of effort, you can double your points.
Although you can undertake as many activities as you like, you can only earn a maximum of 30 points from each category per week. This should help you diversify into other areas.
There will be more, I'm sure! The idea is that you do these things above and beyond what you would usually do. It should require effort. Remember that if you are coming from a really low place, undertake the activities in line with that. For example, an Act of Kindness might be just smiling at someone, and exercise might comprise a gentle walk. If you are feeling pretty healthy and robust, I would expect you to do more.
So, I will launch my game with giving myself 10 points for starting a new habit :) Good luck!
Essentially, the game is this: You are trying to gain points everyday through doing an activity that is above and beyond your usual duties. These activities are in line with resilience and happiness principles and, although uncomplicated, have been shown to be very effective.
The exercise will take 10 weeks to complete (because it takes about 9.5 weeks to set a new habit) and it's my hope that you will let me know what you've done.
I'll commit to doing something everyday and tweeting/facebooking my findings. I'll also be blogging about the types of activities and why they are important.
As a starter, I've compiled the following activities to choose from:
Gratitude: Listing one gratitude publicly (eg Facebook/Twitter) or stating/writing three privately. 10 points
Act of Kindness: One act of kindness to familiar or stranger: 10 points
Good eating: A day of eating really good, healthy food: 10 points
Exercise: Doing exercise: 10 points
Starting, resuming or maintaining a good habit: 10 points (note *effort below)
Consciously engaging in a stress management technique: 10 points
Finding space, meditating, relaxing or taking time out: 10 points
Making social contact: 10 points
Reappraising a negative situation: 10 points
Admitting an error/ apologising/ taking responsibility for a mistake/forgiving someone: 10 points
Consciously engaging in experiencing positive emotions (savouring, joy, pleasure): 10 points
*Effort: For something that requires a lot of effort, you can double your points.
Although you can undertake as many activities as you like, you can only earn a maximum of 30 points from each category per week. This should help you diversify into other areas.
There will be more, I'm sure! The idea is that you do these things above and beyond what you would usually do. It should require effort. Remember that if you are coming from a really low place, undertake the activities in line with that. For example, an Act of Kindness might be just smiling at someone, and exercise might comprise a gentle walk. If you are feeling pretty healthy and robust, I would expect you to do more.
So, I will launch my game with giving myself 10 points for starting a new habit :) Good luck!
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