Do Something Brave Month!

We’re doing a family challenge for the month of February that I thought others might like to join in on.  We’re designating it Do Something Brave Month, and challenging ourselves to each do 20 brave things to earn a family reward.

What counts as brave?  Anything outside your comfort zone that could lead to good things but feels a little scary.

Some examples (for big and little people)…

• Go to sleep with the lights out
• Approach someone you’d like to befriend and start a conversation
• Audition for a play
• Jump into the deep end for the first time
• Sign up for a club or class
• Ask for a raise
• Stand up for someone (including yourself)
• Sing in public
• Face a phobia and take a step towards kicking it
• Climb a tree
• Send out a book proposal
• Go into the basement alone
• Compliment a stranger
• Write an author to say you love her book
• Get a daring haircut
• Go up high and look down
• Sign up for a half marathon
• Quit a bad habit
• Try out for a sport
• Look under the bed

Obviously, these should be tasks that are a little bit scary for you.  Petting a dog would be a great challenge for a child afraid of dogs, but not for someone who is always around them!  Each thing should be safe and positive. 

These can be small steps that help deal with shyness, fears and hesitations.  Keep it doable!

Want to join in?  Pick a family goal (we’re doing 20 each, for me and the four older kids, so a total of 100 brave things for the month) and a reward (we’re taking a trip to the Mall of America for the first time as a family so we can hang out with wonderful friends and see LEGO Land for the first time!).  Also decide on rules.  For instance, we decided that we can do more than one a day and that we can do extra to help the family out (for instance, if one family member is short on her/his 20, we can do extras to make the family goal).  Focus on making it positive and possible!

We’re tracking our points on the calendar, with a different color of pen for each of us to log our accomplishments.

Are you in?  Feel free to jump in any time and tailor it to suit your family!  I’d love to hear some of your challenges in the comments if you do join in.

Here’s to making some magic happen.  🙂