WholeHARD45 is about developing new habits of spiritual power, mental toughness, relational connection, and physical stamina. My prayer is that you will build brick by brick a new you through building new habit patterns. I believe,
If you build a new way of Thinking,
you will build new Habits.
New Habits will build a new Character.
If you build a new Character,
you will build a new Destiny.
Your spirit, mind, and body are interconnected. If you want to be fully engaged in loving God and people, Jesus gave us the greatest and most healthy command ever given to humankind. Jesus was asked, “What is the greatest commandment?” and He answered with The Most important formula for success ever given:
“You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength.’ This is the first commandment. And the second, like it, is this: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.”
(Mark 12:30-31)
WholeHARD45 incorporates all the key points of Jesus’s Greatest Command for healthy living. Jesus is saying that everything in life that will make you effective, joyful, and fulfilled is loving God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength. He then says that as we master our love for God, it will overflow in loving others. Each of the Daily Challenges incorporate aspects of the Greatest Command.
WholeHARD45 requires you have a bloodstained ally with whom you can share your journey. This is someone you trust, who loves you, who is committed to your success. They will help hold you accountable and better yet, if they can, join you in WholeHARD45.
I am calling it WholeHARD45 because the next 45 days will be hard. It’s always hard to build new habits. It’s always hard to go to the higher ground of healthy living. Like the bricks required to build a house, you are building brick by brick, a new you, a new temple spiritually, emotionally, mentally, and physically. It will require wholehearted commitment to the process! Experts say it takes at least 21-30 days to develop a new habit. I’ve chosen 45 days in order to double the likelihood of these new habits becoming engrained into your life. WholeHARD45 could change your life. Bring it on.
— Dr. Steve Holt
Co-founder of Worshipper & Warrior
Challenges Explained
1. PB&J 30 minutes
Your thoughts are the architects of your destiny. So, Read the Bible, Pray, and Journal. I would encourage you to use Jay Inman’s PB&J book/journal. You can order it on Amazon. If not, then read 3 chapters in the Old Testament and 3 chapters in the New Testament each day. Start in Genesis (first book of the Old Testament) and Matthew (first book of the New Testament). Start with prayer. Then read your Bible. Finish with writing in your journal.
2. Exercise or Walk for 30 minutes
Exercise. Studies prove the most important way to oxygenate your brain, stave off mental decline, and build your physical strength, is working out. The study of neuroplasticity has shown that even as we age, we can continue to increase our IQ through a daily work out. Just 30 minutes each day could change your entire outlook on life. Find a routine you can maintain. A little done consistently is better than a lot done sporadically.
Walk. If you can do your walk outside, this would be best. Eighty-eight percent of Americans are Vitamin D deficient. Vitamin D is the sunshine vitamin. By getting outside in the sun each day for 30 minutes with no sunscreen or sunglasses, one can build up and maintain the daily need for the “happiness vitamin.” In addition, clinical studies have shown that walking just might be the most important way to lose weight and strengthen one’s core.
3. A Random Act of Kindness
Start helping others each day. Helping others builds your love quotient. Look for opportunities to help or encourage someone in need. People in need are all around us. You can text an encouraging word. You can call someone who’s lonely. You can take time to help someone with a task.
4. No Alcohol
Alcohol can be addictive. Millions of people each year become addicted to alcohol, and it ruins their life. Don’t drink. You will feel better in the long run if you replace alcohol with healthier eating and drinking habits. Try drinking more water.
5. No Junk Food
The huge amounts of sugar, fat, and GMOs in our fast food, junk food, and processed food is killing us. No eating fast food or junk food. None. We are the unhealthiest most obese nation in the world. Replace all those quicky stops at fast food places with God-Made-Food. God-Made-Food is natural grown, no pesticide sprayed, organic food. Only eat out at restaurants that serve healthy food. Learn to make good meals at your home. Sorry folks, chick fil a is fast food!
6. Read 3 Pages of a Non-Fiction Book
Leaders are readers. If you’re not a reader of good literature, I hope you will be after these 45 days. Read books you are motivated to read. If you enjoy history, read history. If you enjoy learning about great men and women, read biographies. If you want to improve your health in a particular area, seek the best books in those categories. If you want to improve your leadership, read leadership books.
7. Watch an EmpowerU Episode
EmpowerU is designed to do just what it says: empower you! One of the great lessons of life is keeping the edge of learning. It’s up to you to keep empowering yourself. Go to empoweru.live (or click on the QR code) and subscribe; it’s free. We now have one hundred episodes. Each episode of each category is only 15 minutes long. The Foundations series is the best for getting started.
8. Pray Out Loud with your Spouse
If you’re married take time to pray with your spouse. The statistics are astounding. Couples who daily read the Bible and pray together have less than 1 in 1,018 chances of divorce. This just may be the #1 way to divorce proof your marriage! I know it’s scary to pray together out loud. But just start doing it and watch what God will do.
9. Communicate with your Bloodstained Ally
If you don’t have a bloodstained ally, get one. If you have one, ask if he/she will hold you accountable to each daily challenge. The requirement is that you text, email, or call your bloodstained ally each day and let them know of your progress or struggles. Even better, do WholeHARD45 together with your BSA.
10. Sexual Purity. No Porn.
No sex outside of marriage and that includes not looking at any porn. It’s killing your spirit, your relationships, and especially your marriage. The dopamine dump you get from fixating on sexual images is destroying your brain (and your life). The good news is that research proves one can redig the ditches of one’s frontal cortex through rerouting our need for dopamine with healthier habits. The other 9 habits can reform your brain if you will learn to completely fast from porn.