D is for Dare – Giving Something up

This month people have been challenging themselves to Go Sober for October to raise money for Macmillan Cancer Support. We know that many of our readers are still in school, so they are too young to drink alcohol, or maybe you are a parent or teacher who doesn’t drink. So, we wanted to use this initiative to talk about the challenge of giving something up and dare you to do it.

Now we are pretty sure we can guess what you first thought of when thinking about what you could give up…vegetables! But that would be far too easy now, wouldn’t it? The whole point of challenging yourself to give something up is that it needs to be difficult, so you must pick something you enjoy.

So, what can you give up?

Maybe you have got a sweet tooth? So, you could give up chocolate or sweets or even fizzy drinks.

Are you constantly looking at a screen? It could be time to take a break from gaming, social media or watching TV.

Have you been getting lots of parcels through the door? Maybe you could try and give up online shopping for a while. 

Would you call yourself a messy person? Then, you could challenge yourself to give up being messy and make sure you keep your bedroom tidy.

Is your time management not particularly great? Make that effort to attend lessons, meetups and events on time, and no longer be the ‘always late friend’.

Okay, so write down a list of things that you really enjoy eating, drinking or doing. Now from that list, pick the one that you think is your worst habit, and this can be the thing that you challenge yourself to give up. Be really honest with yourself, and don’t just pick the option that will be the easiest to do; it’s time to get out of your comfort zone.

Motivation can play a significant role in whether you can commit to giving something up. This is why a lot of people do these challenges as a way to raise money for charity. This creates a real purpose and the motivation they need to keep them going throughout the challenge, as it is no longer just about themselves; they are doing it for a good cause too.

That being said, you do not have to raise money for charity to give something up. Instead, you can do it for yourself. To increase the chances of successfully giving something up, we recommend that you tell people you are doing it. Making people aware you are giving something up can help you to stick to it, as those around you can keep you accountable and not put you in positions where you are constantly tempted by the thing you are trying to give up.

Giving up something can require a lot of mental willpower and inner strength. So, have you got the courage to do it? 

Now, courage affects us all on different levels. So if you don’t think of yourself as a particularly courageous person, never fear because everyone can develop courage.

Challenging yourself to give up something for a month can develop your courage as you acknowledge a ‘bad habit’ and then you get out of your comfort zone by giving it up. 

So, we dare you to do something out of your comfort zone by challenging yourself to a monthly challenge and see what you can achieve when you put your mind to it! 

Part of being courageous is embracing failure too. So, if you don’t succeed at first, remember that this is okay; just brush yourself off and try again. As the saying goes: It’s better to have tried and failed than never try at all!

So, what are you going to challenge yourself to give up?

To find out more on this topic…

Listen to our ‘D is for Dare’ podcast episode!

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