JCIP 21 Day Challenge

JCIP 21 Day Challenge: Physical, Mental, and Emotional Wellness

By Sam Uy National Director for Membership

The Membership Team

For the participants, it seemed like everything was going smoothly and that my biggest struggle was Coach Brigitte’s leg workout. Except in reality, it was a lot more than that. Here’s the REAL scoop behind the scenes.

How It Started

It was the first week of January 2021 with the ND Academy on January 12 to 14. We were tasked to present our proposals on January 15. I already had two failed proposals at the time, but you know what they say, third time’s the charm. After a week of brainstorming with NSG Liezl, we finally had our light-bulb moment: To make a 21-day challenge that can promote good health and well-being to all JCI members in the Philippines. We chose 21 days because that’s how long it takes to create a habit on average. The goal is for these healthy habits to be a part of our lifestyle, because we want the impact to be long-term and sustainable. After the National Board meeting, I got the good news that my proposal was approved. With the national launch pegged at 01 April 2021, this gave me enough time to prepare but not too much time that I would lose momentum. But the bigger question is, where do I begin?

Before that, let me explain why I have a passion for good health and well-being in the first place. A couple of years back, I found myself feeling down and opened up to my friend, Robert. He gave me these simple tasks to follow: exercise, eat healthy, and meditate. He also gave me the book, The Magic by Rhonda Byrne, that teaches about the power of gratitude. These all made a difference in my life. Since then, it has become my passion to help others just like my friend helped me. The timing couldn’t be more perfect. The pandemic and the current circumstances are less than ideal, but it gave us a chance to connect online and create a community with people across the different islands. We also need physical, mental, and emotional wellness now more than ever to strengthen our immune system against Covid19.

Going back to the program, I needed a game plan to start. As I recall, IPP Samantha sent me a podcast that I listened to everyday, and it kept me motivated. So I shared the plan with her and we came up with the idea to invite expert speakers to talk about different topics every day throughout the challenge. Samantha, being such a Ms. Congeniality, knew ten times more JCI members than I did! She suggested JCI members for every topic I could think of. And because I’m the least techie person ever, she also offered to make the Facebook Group, Instagram Page, and first few ad materials. This is how I knew that Sam should be DD Sam.

The Buildup

February 2021. Two months to go before the target date and all we had were the guidelines and social media platforms. Nevertheless, it was time to promote the program and get as many people involved because this is what the JCI Mission is all about. On one random Sunday, I was in a mountain resort with Jaye and Jacob, my son. Sitting at the other table was Jarra and we ended up talking. I told her about the program and asked if she could be one of our speakers. She said YES on the spot! How lucky am I to have the 2020 National Debate Champion as a resource speaker? This gave me all the confidence I needed to convince the other lecturers to take part as well. At this point, I already knew that God was on my side and that He would provide all the right people at the perfect time. I just had to trust the process.

The next question is, how do you get participants to join? I had two strategies in mind. First, to ask friends from different Areas to support by joining and inviting others. Second, to participate in activities for publicity, such as Wazzup JCIP 2.0. Additionally, I also created a training module called Healthy Habits and presented it to our sister chapters under the JCI Mandaue program, Engage Interactive Series. After the second session, around 40 people joined the Facebook Group, and this got the ball rolling. During March, that number multiplied exponentially until we had 1600+ members in the Group. This was when I realized that the program was getting much bigger than I expected, and that I would need a team to pull this off.

Since our team is composed of different areas, I chose people that I instantly connected with based on the few times we met. As it turns out, they’re also passionate about good health and well-being. If you asked me to name my top three weaknesses, I would say I lack organizing, computer, and design skills. What were the odds that three members of the team are current or former Secretaries of their respective chapters? This made the dynamics of the team as perfect as I could hope for. AD Eda is so organized that she prepared the whole tech script for the Grand Launching and the Closing Ceremonies. This made it easier for our host, DNSG Jahan and our Tech Director, Eisen to understand the flow right away. AD Janelle has a talent for designing collaterals and enjoys using Canva, while AD Katrina, AD Jason, and AD Abigail invited people from their areas to be the Coaches and participants. When it comes to leading the team, I guess I did one thing right. I was able to share my vision that the purpose of the Challenge is to inspire the JCI members to be better. Since this is a National Program, we can’t bid this for awards and recognition. However, we still strived for excellence because our hearts were in the right place.

Jane Dablos (JCI Lanao Greenfields)

The Execution

April 2021 is officially the start of the challenge. To say that it was challenging for us is an understatement. Our team was incredibly busy with what was happening in our respective chapters. My chapter was planning our induction, chartering another chapter, and participating in JCI week simultaneously. It came to a point that my only free time of the day was spent working out and meditating because we have to practice what we preach. This is where the love and concern for each other in the team took over. We would take turns fulfilling our responsibilities so that the others can rest. Overall, it was such a positive environment for all of us and I hope that our positivity overflowed to the people we serve. Because it was our love for the participants, your posts, and your kind words that kept us going during those days that we were already feeling drained. Seeing all the Finishers of the #JCIP21DayChallenge and their inspiring journeys was the best reward for us.

Finisher’s Report (Kit Flores/ JCI Ortigas)

Orlando Casipiti (JCI Kulintang)

The Takeaway

What did I learn throughout this whole thing? I learned that as much as we try to control the outcome, we can only do so much because some things are based on outside factors like timing, luck, and other people. This is why we need to learn to be happy regardless of the result. Every single part of the program from the Team, Partners, Sponsors, Speakers, Coaches, to the Participants made it successful beyond our expectations. I also learned that whenever we get the opportunity to step out of our comfort zones, we should just take a leap of faith. That way, we won’t have any regrets. We just have to give it our best and hope it works out. And if it does, always remember to stay humble because almost everything can be taken away from us in an instant. This reminds us to work on ourselves and aim for constant improvement. When all is said and done, that’s something that we can take with us wherever we go. We have to prioritize ourselves because when we show up as our best, we can be a blessing to everyone around us and we can do More for Others.

Our JCI careers are not going to last forever, but the lessons and experiences will always be ours to keep. If we’re lucky, we get to leave a mark that will be remembered as our legacy. On behalf of the whole Membership team, I’d like to thank JCI Philippines and its members for giving us both this opportunity and experience that we will forever treasure. It is our dream to see this program continue to touch the lives of more people. Because at the end of the day, people don’t remember the awards or the positions, but they will remember how we made them feel. How much we loved, cared, and chose to do the right thing even when it’s not always the easiest option. And in the end, that is what leads to real and long-lasting happiness, knowing that we made the world a better place. We are truly grateful for the overwhelming support that we have received during this whole program, and we hope that we made as much an impact in your lives as you have in ours. Congratulations, everyone!