I was thinking about June, forlorn and forgotten with no widely celebrated assigned holiday. We have Thanksgiving Day, Canada Day and New Year’s Day are examples. But not a day in June.

Well, each crisis is an opportunity, so we should create our own personal and unique day. Let’s arbitrarily say it is June 21st. Everybody gets to define it for themselves, just as we do for Thanksgiving.

I’m calling the day, “Challenge Day.” And here’s how it works – for me.

I am going to challenge myself for each of the last 10 days of the month. The challenge is to do something outside of my comfort zone. I can do the same thing every day, or mix it up with different challenges. To help me to not act like water and take the easiest path, I’ll score myself. In 10 days, I need a score of at least 15. So, a 0=not challenging myself at all. A 1=some discomfort but very little. A 5= creates a feeling of accomplishment with room for more. And a 10= something I’m glad I survived but would never do it again.

In practical terms, my unique challenges might look like this; Reading a book I wouldn’t likely read is a 0 as I already read a wide variety of books. I’d up my ante and challenge myself to start up a conversation with 3 strangers for 1 point. I’d give myself 5 points for learning how to appreciate a genre of music I don’t currently enjoy. Lastly, I’d give myself 10 points for going skydiving – not going to happen even once!

This is a personal challenge, so I won’t cheat, and I’ll be as honest with myself as I can. In fact, to earn 5 points on one of the days, I’ll ask others who know me to identify a level 5-7 challenge for me to do.

As older adults and seniors, we can get into the mindset of coasting through life with thoughts that you’ve earned this quiet time. You’ve paid your dues. That may be true. What really excites you – gets you up in the morning with a spring in that unsteady step? How can you be a more interesting person to others?

June is the perfect month to take a step of faith. Use June 21st st as your Challenge Day. Give it your own meaning by setting up the 10 days left in June to move your personal needle towards personal growth.

Let me know what ideas you’ve come up with for yourself. Let me know how it turned out.

Welcome to June 21st, Challenge Day. Remember to have fun and enjoy yourself.

My thanks to St. Albert Seniors Association: 780-459-0433 for making this Blog possible.

Glenn Walmsley
Volunteer