Live Challenges

By Catalina Piñeros Duran (undergraduate FIGRI student)

Do you ever feel bored about the things that you do daily? Have you ever thought about doing something that can change the routine of your life? Well, I’m pretty sure that we all think about this stuff at some point, but sometimes we just let it go or make excuses like "I don’t have time", "it is very difficult" or "I don’t have enough money". 

Challenges are a fun and interesting way to feel less bored about your routine and in some cases you don’t need money or special abilities to make them work. All you need is a little willpower and the determination to create a new challenge in your life. Challenges can be long or short term but the important thing is that you decide to change aspects of your daily life that you don’t like or that you would like to be improved.

Don’t worry; I’m talking about simple things like starting to clean your room, smiling all day long, and stopping smoking or yelling when you are really mad. You may not see it now, but big changes usually come from little details and if you start modifying little things you will have different habits before you realize it.

Challenges are also designed to make us capable of overcoming difficult or sad situations. I’m saying that if we start to make more personal challenges, we will be stronger, wiser, and less heartbroken in life. Not only because we will have the feeling of being stronger after accomplishing something that was hard, but also because we will feel confident about ourselves and our abilities.

Have you ever heard the quote that says “everything that happens in life happens for a reason”? Well, I think every action or move that we make in our life teaches us something. Can you imagine how much you will learn about yourself and others by accomplishing a challenge? Maybe you will learn something really valuable that may be useful in the future.

Personally, I have done a 30-day challenge and it turned my point of view upside down. I chose to give a present to a different person every day, and I can tell you, I realized that I was capable of stopping my routine and making a cute gift for someone that probably doesn’t expect to receive anything from me. Also, I think I wasn’t aware of how blessed and gifted I am. Now I just see everything as a gift of life!

You should dare to create a challenge for yourself, don’t you think? I assure you, it will be amazing!

Students on the English Skills Through Multimedia course this semester set themselves a challenge and carried it out over 30 days. The activity, based on an idea from a TED presentation by Matt Cutts 

(http://www.ted.com/talks/matt_cutts_try_something_new_for_30_days.html), was a learning experience for all – try it!