It’s hard to believe it, but we are approaching the end of the decade. Thinking about this has actually blown my mind. I work at our school’s recreational center, so I am passionate about cultivating a community where people work toward being their best selves! The end of the decade led me and some coworkers to reflect on the idea of New Year’s Resolutions. There’s absolutely nothing wrong with these, and I’ve been known to make one or two every year, but I had to stop and think — how am I setting myself up to do well for the next year? How am I setting myself up to do well next month or next week?
Thankfully, Rachel Hollis, founder of Hollis Co and author of popular books like “Girl, Wash Your Face” and “Girl, Stop Apologizing” came up with the Last 90 Days Challenge. This challenge started on October 1st and focuses on different ways to prioritize your health. On their website, Hollis Co points out that the last three months of the year are often the most stressful. Without a plan, surrounded by travel and diet inconsistencies, it’s easy to slip into negative habits. The challenge motivated us and held us accountable to practicing positive behavior.
We at UMKC Campus Rec decided to take our own spin on the Last 90 Days Challenge. We launched our program and referred the students at our university back to Hollis Co and The Start Today Brand that began the movement. This challenge has really helped me shift my mindset, so I wanted to share some highlights from my last 90 days. Maybe you can join along! There are only a few weeks left until the New Year, but why not start today?We split up the Last 90 Days “Five to Thrive” ideas into sections — every few weeks, we added a new goal. We started by drinking half our body weight in water every day. This was by far the easiest for me — I already drink a ton of water, and I love using all my cute water bottles.
The next thing we added was fitting in at least 30 minutes of movement every day. This was harder for me, and I have to admit I didn’t always do it. But that’s the beauty of the challenge: every day is a new day. For me, this included small changes like parking further away so I had to walk more, taking the stairs instead of the elevator, or taking a dance fit class at our recreation center. After a few weeks, we shifted this goal to be 60 minutes of movement. Many students took yoga classes or walked their dogs a little longer to reach this goal.
My absolute favorite thing, and definitely the most challenging goal, was to write out 10 pieces of gratitude every single day. These had to be things that happened in the last 24 hours, so it couldn’t be something broad like “I’m thankful that I have a roof over my head.” The purpose of this was to remind ourselves to find joy in the small, everyday things. For me, this was extra time in the morning to make a cup of coffee, a cute dog I saw at the park or enjoying a nice conversation with one of my friends. It really helped me focus on staying positive, especially during the craziness of finals week.
The next thing we added was to implement more nutritious foods in our diet. Oftentimes, people assume that to be healthier, they need to eat less. However, we realized that most of us just need to incorporate more nutrients and healthy foods into our diets. To do this, I snuck veggies in some of my meals, attended a Lunch and Learn event with my favorite health Instagrammer @jessnk.fit and frequently made smoothies with my stash of frozen fruit. I tried a few recipes from @wellnessforthewin too and discovered that cauliflower is an amazing substitute for pasta and rice.
As we near the end of the decade, it’s important to self-reflect to set us up to be better for the next year. I suggest taking things one step at a time so you don’t get overwhelmed. Don’t get discouraged if you miss a step, and no matter if it’s the beginning of a new year or the end of a decade, it’s never too late to start.