A Well-Being Challenge offers lots of activities to help focus attention, boost happiness and improve overall well-being. If you are feeling pulled in lots of directions, a Well-Being Challenge might be just what you need. The activities in a Well-Being Challenge are designed to improve focused attention and happiness, both of which can impact well-being in many ways and lead to personal success. Focused attention on a stimulus or activity is an important skill that helps us efficiently carry out tasks in daily life. Boosting happiness levels may even lead to greater participation in activities that are healthier, like exercise, socializing, and healthy eating and sleeping habits. Here are some ideas — for focused attention and boosting happiness — you could include in your Well-Being Challenge:
Focused attention
- Meditation/mindfulness
- Exercise
- Try the Raisin Exercise (a short mindfulness exercise encouraging present-moment awareness of the senses, connecting with taste, touch and smell while you eat a raisin)
- Take deliberate rests/brain breaks
- Read a long book slowly
- Avoid multitasking
- Be attentive when listening
- Sit quietly in a chair for five minutes
- Listen to music
- Create a “not to do” list
- Try yoga or tai chi
- Put a jigsaw puzzle together
- Try sudoku
- Play memory games
- Watch the second hand of a clock for five minutes
- Have a good laugh
- Draw, doodle or color for 15 minutes
- Spend time in nature
- Have a healthy breakfast
- Stay hydrated
- Take short breaks every 90 minutes
- Express your creativity
Boost happiness
- Have a good laugh
- Exercise
- Create an easy goal to complete
- Spend time outside
- Engage your senses during activities
- Make a happy playlist
- Watch a comedy
- Journal
- Practice hygge (a quality of coziness and comfortable conviviality that engenders a feeling of contentment or well-being)
- Smile
- Perform a random act of kindness
- Declutter
- Tame your materialism
- Write a gratitude letter to someone and read it to them over the phone or in person
- Connect with others
- Learn a hobby
- Plan a trip
- See the positive in situations
- Take short breaks every 90 minutes
- Learn something new
- Limit social media
- Follow your passion
You don’t have to limit yourself to only these examples. This list is designed to get you started. Learn more about what’s involved in a Well-Being Challenge in this Blue Cross® Virtual Well-Being webinar. You can also sign up for future employer-focused and general interest webinars here, where you’ll find past sessions and resources. Related:
- Helping Employees Maintain Well-Being as a Caregiver
- How Chronotypes Affect Your Energy
- Tips for Taking Mini-Breaks
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