Challenges

Nowhere is our independence in more jeopardy than in our digital lives. Various surveys find people more willing to give up food, sleep, and sex than to lose their internet connections. One recent study found that half of us would rather have a broken bone than a broken phone.  

• 61% admit to being addicted to the internet and their devices.
• 50% of people prefer to communicate digitally than in person.
• High social media use can trigger an increase in loneliness & jealousy 

We forget, all too easily, that when our phone is off, there’s a whole world out there to be explored. 

Your Challenge for this week is to choose one evening and turn off your phone (and other screens) from 5:00 p.m. until you wake up the following morning.

Cue sweaty palms and nausea. We get it. We’re going to do it too. If it helps, print off this handy Permission Slip.

Some ideas of things to do while off our phones:

Read this awesomeness by John Stilgoe, or a little (or a lot) of this by Cheryl Strayed, and then get yourself outside.  Walk, savor, breathe.

Make a bucket list of things to do in the next 5 years.  Put them on post-it notes.  Stick them up in your closet.

Select a random recipe, shop for the ingredients, and cook.  Feed others if possible.

Print off Arthur Aron’s 36 questions.  Sit with someone you love – or want to love – and just do them.  You’ll thank us later.

Spend quality time re-sparking intimacy with your sig-o, or have a deep talk with a friend about why modern love is so damn hard.

Grab some friends and one of these board games.

Bring a fine journal and the world’s best $1.33 pen to a library or coffee house, and free-write about what makes you most grateful.

Take a hot bath or shower, brew a big mug of tea, crack open a great book, and get primed for an early and awesome night’s sleep. 

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When you’re done, please take a minute and share your experiences in our Facebook group, or post on your social networks using the hashtag #scareyoursoul  

In courage,

Scott 

How Can You Make Someone’s Day?

Has someone ever made your day? You know what we mean. Your days are busy and full of all sorts of different events. But then there are certain days that just stand out because of the kindness of one person doing one simple act.

How can you step out of your daily comfort zone to make someone’s day?

We’ve all had those sorts of experiences where simple acts of kindness make our day. Do you remember the last time someone made your day? Do you remember how it made you feel? Did you realize that it’s super easy to make someone else’s day?

It’s true!

Your own purposeful or random acts of kindness can make others feel special.

If you like it when someone makes your day, then start by making someone else’s day first!

You never know when your actions will pay it forward and lead others to do the same. So your challenge is to make someone’s day today.

Do the unexpected.

Be thoughtful and kind just because you can. Take the focus off of yourself and put it onto others. Put yourself in their shoes and think about what you could do for them that would make their day.

Say “Thank You!”

Just letting people know that you appreciate them — for whatever reason — can make their day.

Catch people doing things right.

So much of the time, we only concentrate on telling people when they’re doing something wrong. Take a different approach. Notice when people do the right thing, and then let them know that you noticed.

Get in touch with someone who’s lonely.

We all have people in our lives that could use a word of encouragement. Take the time to make a phone call, send an email, or even write a handwritten letter just to let someone know you’re thinking about them.

Be a good listener.

It’s so easy to get distracted in today’s world. We often miss opportunities to make someone’s day simply by listening to them. When someone wants to talk to you, give them your undivided attention and let them know you hear what they’re saying.

Share your joy.

Have you been blessed by something recently? Perhaps it was a word of encouragement, an inspiring song, or maybe even a funny story or picture. Pass it along and share that joy with others.