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Top Ways to Challenge Yourself in 2014

Jan 13, 2015

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Lifestyle

Nathalie Martin

Every New Year we make resolutions that are forgotten just a few weeks into the year
- Quit Smoking
- Lose Weight
- Get more active
- Take up a sport

The usual suspects right? But why not revisit some of these old resolutions and take on a challenge that could change your life in 2014

Here some top ways to challenge yourself in 2014
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Page 1: Top Ways to Challenge Yourself in 2014
Page 2: Top Ways to Challenge Yourself in 2014

Every New Year we make resolutions that are forgotten just a few weeks into the year

– Quit Smoking

– Lose Weight

– Get more active

– Take up a sport

The usual suspects right? But why not revisit some of these old resolutions and take on a challenge that could change your life in 2014

Here some top ways to challenge yourself in 2014

Page 3: Top Ways to Challenge Yourself in 2014
Page 4: Top Ways to Challenge Yourself in 2014

• In 2013 26% of Women & 19% of Men are classified as “inactive”

• “inactive” meaning that a lot of us are “coach potatoes” and do not work out in any way or form!

• Bad times for our waists, literally! On average our waist circumference increased by 70% (1993 until present) for both men and women

So why not change – with a great sports challenge…

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IdeasRun a Marathon – A challenge indeed! But is it fun? Well ‘actually’ it has been proven that running on a regular basis makes you a happier person. So not only does it improve your fitness and health – it will turn any frown around!

Running really not your thing? Well, try a “Bikeathon” instead. There are two major events the London Bikeathon and Birmingham Bikeathon. A marathon on a bike! PAH that must be easy peasy right? Well, both events cater for different levels with 3 routes 26miles, 52miles and a meaty 100miles. Definitely means that properly padded cycling pants are a MUST!

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Facts

• In the UK 64% of adults are classed either as being overweight or obese

• Being “inactive” is not doing us any good – more people are suffering from high blood pressure and diabetes

• But why? Well, not only have we become “couch potatoes” our jobs are less active (sitting behind desks), and our good friend the TV is keeping us strongly in its grip!

So why not take on the weight challenge…

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Ideas

OK we could just go for the usual suspects, but why not make it a fun challenge, here are some wacky weight loss challenges you might want to take on:

• The newest craze “twerking” yes Miley’s moves have become a respected form of weight loss

• OR you could combine your bikeathons preparation with some “cycle karaoke” – Yep who knows you might get a music career out of it – or get kicked out of your local gym

• You don’t want to exercise by yourself? Well why not include your pet dog. Yes you read right! Perfect challenge “Doga” which is practising Yoga with your dog. Don’t get too excited your dog won’t suddenly perform amazing Yoga positions but will be more of a prop

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THE LANGUAGE CHALLENGE

Bonjour!

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Most Spoken LanguagesManadrin (Chinese)

Spanish

English

Hindi

Arabic

Portuguese

Bengali

Russian

Japanese

Javanese

A study carried out with UK parents shows that TV shows such as “Dora the Explorer” is increasing the amount of babies & toddlers signed up for foreign-language classes (Who would have thought?)

Parents could be onto something because:

1. People “just” thinking in another language make better life decisions

2. Achieve higher marks at school3. Enjoy better career prospects

Plus a study from the University of Chicago suggest that being able to talk a second language might help prevent dementia later on in life

WELL – Get on the language challenge then…

You might want to start with the top 10 languages above. And YES Javanese is a language (which is

spoken in Indonesia)

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IdeaYou are dreading to learn a new language – it will take up time, it’s expensive and you really hate sitting in a classroom? Well, here some more fun ideas that could support your language challenge:

1. Like dining in restaurants? Well, it’s a great way to learn a language. Go to some authentic restaurants and study the menu in your desired language – next step try and order your food in that language

2. Like Soaps? Why not switch from EastEnders to a soap in the language you want to learn. You won’t believe how much you will learn and understand by simply reading body language and mimic

3. Got a smartphone? Ok this one is for the brave amongst us, switch your language settings to whatever language you want to learn. It might be a struggle at first – but soon you will get the hang of it.

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THE TRAVEL CHALLENGE

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Facts

• 56.5 million British citizens made visits abroad

• Spain and France make up 34% of all visits abroad

• 154,000 British citizens have moved abroad in the last year

• 1.3m University graduates now live overseas

• In fact 400 Britons emigrate every day

So why not join them and take on the travel challenge…

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IdeasSo you want to travel the world, explore new places, cultures and get one heck of an experience. Here some suggestions that could help you along on your travel challenge:

1. Become a constant traveller: Some people will make that decision to leave everything behind and just travel. Spending time in different countries and getting by on odd jobs.

2. Become an world explorer: Others will take a break from life for a year or two, sum up their savings and explore the world as far and as much as they can

3. Become a settler: Some people travel, fall in love with the country, and never return. Others find new exciting opportunities and set up a new live as an Expat or resident.

Ok if you have never travelled, and still want the odd kick, you could just start travelling by visiting some of the top 10 holiday destinations (baby steps before you are ready for the leap)

1 Spain

2 France

3 Greece

4 USA

5 Italy

6 Turkey

7 Egypt

8 Croatia

9 Thailand

10 Dubai

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Summary Before Final Challenge

So, by now you have:

• Changed from inactive to active by taking on some crazy sports challenge

• Lost some weight balancing your pet dog whilst doing “doga” and got that body of steel you always wanted

• Learnt a new language, which you have used in your travels around the world

• You have seen all the countries you would love to live in

Now you are ready for the final challenge …

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THE JOB CHALLENGE

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Facts

• Employment figures in the UK have been pretty glum unless you are in IT (in that case forget about this challenge and stick to what you are doing!)

• Unemployment stands at 7.2% meaning 2.3million people are out of work

• The UK only has 1460 hours of sunlight per year from a possible 4383 – bad times!

• Better job prospects can be found in Norway (3.2% unemployed), Switzerland (4.8%) or Austria (4.8%)

• No wonder increasingly more people are looking to walk out of their jobs into an expat live somewhere sunny!

Top UK Expats Destinations

Australia

USA

Spain

Canada

Ireland

France

New Zealand

South Africa

Germany

UAE

Don’t limit yourself to “English” speaking countries. Get your language challenge on and benefit from Tax Free

packages, 365 days of sun shine, nicer food, and some better job opportunities…

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Your job is boring, you hate waking up each day and walking into that office? Why not make a change…

1. Shift your skills! Why not go back to University, get a professional certification or retrain totally. Some if this you could do in evening classes or even online

2. Find a new company! It’s hard to leave well known surroundings and taking on the challenge of integrating into a new company. Overcome the fear –but don’t leave your current job until you got that new opportunity under your belt

3. Go Expat! You really fed up and you just got to make a drastic change. Well, why not go Expat. If you are brave enough you could find some great opportunities abroad. However, be careful, if it sounds too good to be true – it most probably is. If it is your first time it would be best to go via a professional recruitment agency. They will know the laws, requirements and will deal with all the paperwork.

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• http://www.hscic.gov.uk/catalogue/PUB13648/Obes-phys-acti-diet-eng-2014-rep.pdf

• http://health.india.com/fitness/25-fun-and-exciting-ways-to-lose-weight/

• http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-25576400

• http://www.nhs.uk/news/2013/02February/Pages/Latest-obesity-stats-for-England-are-alarming-reading.aspx

• http://www.economist.com/blogs/prospero/2014/03/language-study

• http://esl.fis.edu/parents/advice/myth2.htm

• http://www.parents.com/toddlers-preschoolers/development/language/best-foreign-language-for-kids-to-learn/

• http://www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0775272.html

• http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/jobs/9877132/Career-change-how-to-make-it-happen.html

• http://www.london.climatemps.com/sunlight.php

• http://www.theguardian.com/money/2012/nov/26/where-do-uk-expats-live

• http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-26644758

• http://www.forbes.com/2009/11/16/europe-unemployment-countries-lifestyle-lifestyle-best-worst.html