THE GREATER GOOD CHALLENGE - CATEGORIES

Category 1: Living like a minimalist

• Obviously, we are all in different financial situations so do what works for you. The basic idea is to cut back financially/materialistically and instead become creative in our everyday lives to explore meaning in things that don’t have a price tag. I have a lot of ideas for this category so we’ll start slow!
  
• There are exceptions to maintain “necessities” in life. These include:
  - Food & Groceries (but set a budget for groceries and stick to it).
  - Transportation is a gimme– Car repairs, maintenance & gas (however minimize where possible: walking, biking, transit and if you need repairs, see what parts or services can be bartered)
  - If one of the goals you are trying to achieve includes minimizing the amount of money you spend on clothes, for the sake of hygiene please purchase NEW underwear, socks & bras!
  

Category 2: Healthy Living

• This one has never ending possibilities! The basics include:
  - GET MOVING! 3 days a week do a minimum of 25 minutes of exercise, even if you start off walking.
  - Healthy Eating 5 days a week. How you choose to go about this is up to you, but treat your body with goodness 5 days a week and reward yourself on the weekends! Everyone is different so I won’t set boundaries, but rather give you tips and ideas. If you do one thing, I suggest you keep a food diary. Sounds like a big pain, but once you get in the routine of doing it, it’s as habitual as brushing your teeth!
  

Category 3: Pay it Forward

• This is not a category to gloat, get attention or any extra recognition. If we need more of anything we need more kindness and generosity. We all know this, but I don’t think we do it, including myself. This is to inspire a little love in the world and that is the only reason I choose to share my experiences in this category!
  
• Once a week perform a specific act of kindness or pay a favour forward without expecting anything in return. I don’t care if it’s big, small, words of kindness or a thoughtful gesture - we all could have kinder intentions.

It Takes 21 Days To Break A Bad Habit

• In order to ensure behaviour change, experts agree that it takes a minimum of 21 days to change a behaviour. Look at the date you are planning on changing your habit, count ahead 21 days and on that date write down your goal in positive terms. There is magic in the written word when it applies to you. Now, make a commitment that you will follow your plan for 21 days.
  
• I, along with my team at Fruition will be following The ‘Greater Good’ Challenge within our own lives and blogging about it. Every 21 days we will introduce a new challenge or goal within each category for a year (except Category 3 which will remain constant within our everyday lives). We will attempt to follow our challenges for the whole 21 days and evaluate our progress and make changes if needed!

Disclaimer:
I understand that this challenge isn't going to mesh perfectly with everyone’s lifestyle. I’m a student who has decided to go back to university to complete a 4 year degree. I don’t have children or a full time job (anymore!) so my challenges are going to be different than a family of 5 per say.

Fatigue, boredom, depression, and stress can all make it difficult to stick with your program. But having a relapse isn't as important as how you deal with the relapse. If you are so devastated by failure that you call your good intentions into question, changing habits can become very difficult for you. But, if you allow for an occasional relapse and treat it as nothing more than a slight misstep that teaches you something, then you're on the right track.

I believe in the power of intention and I believe in change. And by that I mean that I believe change is healthy and it’s possible. So, if my challenges and goals can spark a little motivation for others and your challenges and goals can spark a little inspiration in me and my team at Fruition, then together we can find that morale and support that can sometimes seem so distant! I believe that in order to be determined you have to have discipline, and vice versa. In order to be disciplined you have to have determination. And trust me it is so worth it!
So who’s on board?!
Erin Krushelnicki,


“The Price of Discipline is Always Less than the Pain of Regret.”
-Nido Qubein