Christopher Burns

For The Maine Campus

For the next 30 days, many UMaine students are going to discover something new about themselves. Students and community members sign-up and take on a challenge, like no soda, exercise more, drink more water, or meditate. Then, for 30 days, from Nov. 1 to Dec. 1, they try to stick to the challenge.

The UMaine 30-Day Challenge was created by Shelby Saucier of the Student Wellness Resource Center in the Memorial Union. She hopes that the 30-Day Challenge will be her legacy.

The concept originated from a TED Talk by Matt Cutts, an engineer at Google. Cutt’s inspiration for the challenge was “the American philosopher Morgan Spurlock.” The idea was find a small challenge, something different, that will enrich your life.

“Think about something you’ve always wanted to add to your life and add it,” Cutts said.

For Cutts, a successful challenge is a “small sustainable change.” Keeping this in mind helps to ensure that you do not overdo it and push yourself into an unwinnable situation. Most New Year’s resolutions fail for this reason. What is remarkable, according to Cutts, is by the end of 30 days, your confidence, is boosted, as is your happiness, and with each successive challenge, the months do not go by unnoticed nor forgotten easily.

So far nearly 50 students have signed up for the event. New students are encouraged to sign-up at any point during November. Many of the challenges are centered around improving health and wellness, drinking eight glasses of water a day and getting more exercise. Other students have opted for more creative options.

For instance, Julia Emily Hathaway, a UMaine alumna and op-ed contributor for the Bangor Daily News, will spend the next 30 days doing something to make another person’s day better.

Hathaway entered the challenge with great enthusiasm. In fact, she said she began the challenge a week before the kickoff on Friday. “I am very much enjoying it and finding there are so many ways to achieve this,” Hathaway said. “My activities have ranged from giving out free book coupons at the Orono library book sale to helping kids decorate cookies to giving homework help.”

Her idea was to take on a simple challenge to optimize success.

For more information about the 30-Day Challenge, email Shelby Saucier at shelby.saucier@umit.maine.edu, or check out the UMaine Student Wellness Resource Center page on Facebook or check it out on Twitter at @SWRC2, or stop by the Student Wellness Resource Center in the Memorial Union.

To watch the full TED Talk, go to www.ted.com/talks/matt_cutts_try_something_new_for_30_days.