The Living Fully Challenge

12 Months to a Fully-Lived Life

The Two Basic Monthly Assignments

Each month you have two assignments; these remain the same over the course of the whole year. I will remind you of these two basic assignments each month, but you will be expected to continue working with them during every day for 12 whole months.

Basic Assignment #1:

Take some deep breaths several times every day. The breath is the source of life. God breathed life into us. As we breathe in, we continue breathing in God’s exhale, and as we exhale God inhales. It’s a continuous circular breath from the Creator to the created. Plus, without breath, we die. Each breath gives our body what it needs to continue living. And the fact that we breathe without even thinking about it represents a miracle. So, breathe deeply and consciously as often as possibly, because the breath enlivens you! If you have a watch that beeps on the hour, I suggest you set it to do so, and each hour take a minimum of 10 deep, slow, conscious breaths. While you do so, acknowledge the miracle of breathing.

Basic Assignment #2:

Each night before you fall asleep acknowledge at least one thing about your life and the way you lived it that day that you really appreciated or enjoyed. If you can't find at least one thing you appreciated or enjoyed, then commit to doing something different the next day – to doing one thing you can acknowledge the next night – something that puts a smile on your face – before you fall asleep. The reason for this exercise seems self-explanatory. If you aren’t doing anything that you can acknowledge as being enjoyable or that you sincerely appreciate, you aren’t living fully.

Assignment for Month #1

Each month I'll detail two exercises to use throughout the month that will help you live more fully. The first one will involve one area of your life. The second one will be applied to 12 general areas of your daily life – finance, romantic relationship, free time/fun, health/exercise, work/career, spiritual practice, friendship, relationship with self, relationship with family, continuing education, charity and care of the Earth, and commitments/responsibilities.

Exercise A

We are starting off the challenge dealing with one of the most difficult areas of life (at least for some people) – finance. In the area of finance, find one way this month to deal with money that feels as if it energizes you, gives you pleasure or in some way enlivens you. Do something with money that you’ve always wished you could do but that, to date, you haven’t done. (Don’t, however, do something that will jeopardize your financial security.) This could mean saving money when you don’t normally save money. (You should feel good about putting money away towards retirement, a trip, something you want to purchase, etc.) Or maybe you normally save and don’t spend your money; if so, this month give yourself a spending allowance and go shopping or treat yourself to a night on the town. If you are in debt, maybe schedule an appointment with a debt or budget counselor or come up with a plan to help you take control of your debt situation so you feel a bit freer and lighter about it. If you have enough money saved but have been afraid to spend it on that trip you want to take, call a travel agent and begin at least planning the trip – and consider actually booking it!

Exercise B

Have fun. Too often, we forget to have fun. We get bogged down in doing all the things we are supposed to do, and we forget to simply enjoy ourselves. Living life fully involves enjoying life as much as we can. So, we start doing so right now.

To apply this assignment to your various areas of daily life, I suggest asking yourself the following question: How can I have fun this month in the area of :

finance?
romantic relationship?
free time/fun?
health/exercise?
work/career?
spiritual practice?
friendship?

relationship with self?
relationship with family?
continuing education?
charity and care of the Earth?
commitments/responsibilities?

In some cases, the answers will come easily; in others, we will have to work a bit harder. For example, it might be easy to answer that question for friendship. You might say, “I can have fun this month in the area of friendship by having a girls night out with my three best friends,” or “I can have fun this month in the area of friendship by going camping with the guys.”

I’ll go through five of the more-difficult categories and jot down a few ideas on how I might try to have fun in them. That will get you thinking, and then you can come up with your own ways for these and for the others as well.

How can I have fun this month in the area of:

finance? By playing a money game where I pretend I have plenty of money, and I come up with lots of ways to spend it. Or I put $100 in my wallet and every day I imagine spending it on something. Or I figure out how much money I can afford to spend during the month, and I treat myself to a shopping spree.

health/exercise? Instead of going to the gym five days a week and walking on the treadmill, three of those days I’ll walk with a friend on a nature trail.

work/career? I’ll play a game with myself to motivate me to increase my productivity. If I finish my work early, I get to take a candy break or read a novel or talk to a friend on the phone for 10 minutes. Or I will look at the Help Wanted ads in the paper every weekend and answer some of the ads that are my dream jobs – even if I don’t have the qualifications or experience, just to see if I even get a nibble. (And I’ll have fun imagining what it would be like to have that job!)

relationship with self? I’ll take myself on a date and go do something that I love to do but that maybe no one else wants to do with me!

commitments/responsibilities? I’ll listen to my favorite, up-beat music while doing chores around the house, or I’ll reframe my commitments so I see them as “fun,” trying to be cheerful and to find humor or pleasant things about what I need to do. I can even smile, crack jokes or have fun conversations with those I encounter while I handle my commitments and responsibilities, like going to the grocery store or to the bank or driving the kids to activities.

Now, it’s your turn. Go through all 12 areas and figure out how you will have fun in those areas this month. Your fun activity or approach doesn’t have to be something you will do every day. However, you will feel like you are spending more of your time living life fully if you do.

And now, go out and have fun!

Enjoy! A fully-lived life consists of lots of fun. So, laugh, smile, and giggle your way to a fully-lived life this month. And don’t forget to energize your finances as well!

Please feel free to send me an e-mail with your comments or concerns or simply to tell me how things are going as you participate in the challenge. Feedback is appreciated as well.