Summary

The author is participating in a 40-day Lent Generosity Challenge, giving up Instagram to focus on personal growth and committing to financial generosity to support community causes.

Abstract

The author embarks on a dual journey this Lenten season, embracing the 40acts Lent Generosity Challenge alongside traditional fasting practices. By abstaining from Instagram, they aim to cultivate a more focused and decisive lifestyle, replacing idle scrolling with productive activities like writing and walking. Additionally, the author has actively contributed to a walkathon fundraiser, donating to ensure all team members meet their goals, and spontaneously purchasing a cinnamon bun for their family. These acts of generosity, both to self and others, are intended to foster selflessness and a heightened awareness of the needs around them. The author plans to document this transformative experience on Medium, hoping to inspire and encourage generosity in readers without coming across as boastful.

Opinions

The author views Instagram as a distraction and a hindrance to personal growth, suggesting a dependency on social media for escapism.
Giving up Instagram is seen as an opportunity to reallocate time to more meaningful and fulfilling activities.
There is a sense of pride and achievement in reaching personal fundraising goals, emphasizing the importance of community support and collective effort.
The act of financially supporting others in their fundraising efforts is believed to affirm their commitment to a shared cause and to foster a sense of camaraderie.
The author believes that acts of generosity, such as buying a treat for one's family, are inherently joyful and enriching, with no room for regret.
Documenting the journey is not intended to boast but to serve as a reflective tool and an inspiration for others to live generously.

Generosity Challenge: People Watching

Adding To Your Life by Taking Away

The joy of giving to yourself and giving to others

This year along with Lent, I’m embarking on a 40-day journey to live generously. With a few friends as accountability partners, I’ve decided to do the 40acts Lent Generosity Challenge.

In this post I’ll talk about my motivations for doing Lent and for doing the challenge, and what I learned from my first day!

Giving Up Instagram = Giving Myself Time

I decided to give up Instagram for Lent this year. I could make a whole post about this, but essentially I want to grow as a person without Instagram as a “fallback.”

What I mean by that is Instagram is something I turn to numerous times throughout the day. I have an email to answer, or I’m about to move on to the next item on my to-do list, but I sigh and think to myself, I’m overwhelmed by all this work––I’ll just take a couple of minutes to scroll through Instagram.

So I scroll, but it ends up being much longer than a couple of minutes. I get sucked into hockey highlights, bloopers from The Office, and I’m just sitting there accomplishing nothing.

All of the scrolling keeps me from getting to the things I should be doing.

By taking a break from Instagram, I hope to become a more focused, decisive person.

I’m taking away that distraction, and my aim is to be more committed to my work for each day. I also hope to spend the time I save doing more of what I love, like writing and going for walks!

Giving Financially Made Me Feel Lighter (In a Good Way)

Today’s prompt for the generosity challenge was about people watching: paying attention to those around us and looking for opportunities to be generous.

I was actually able to do this without physically seeing people.

My friend and I spent this past month campaigning for a walkathon that raises money for organizations that support the homeless in our community. Our church formed a team, and the official walk day was yesterday. However, the fundraising page was still accepting donations, so I decided to check whether each of my team members had met their fundraising goals.

I reached my own goal of $2000 only a few days ago, and I can still remember the feeling of achievement and pride I felt as that bar rose all the way to the top. It was a good feeling––only made possible by the donors who supported me––and I wanted to share it with others.

There were fifteen members on our team––out of a church with a few thousand members. I wanted to encourage and support these people who took the time and effort to invest in a cause they care about, which is very near to my own heart.

Fundraising can be tiring and difficult. It can also be discouraging when it seems like others don’t care as much about a cause as we do. I wanted to affirm them in their own act of supporting others.

I budgeted $500, and discovered that five people had yet to meet their goals. The various amounts added up to the $500, so I believe it was totally meant to be!

There’s just something wonderful about helping others meet their goals. I don’t say that to elevate me as some do-gooder who wants to make themselves look good on Medium; I genuinely believe that living out these acts of generosity will help me grow as a person. I believe it will help me become more selfless, and more aware of the needs––both emotional and physical––of those around me.

Today’s second act of generosity happened when I stopped in at a bagel shop with a couple of friends, and I saw one of the workers take out this beautiful-looking cinnamon bun. I knew my family would love it, so I decided to buy it for them.

You can never regret doing something nice for the people you spend your days with — and who raised you!

So, there you go! The reasons I’m taking away from my life by fasting from Instagram, and taking away from myself (in this case financially) by helping others — and gaining joy from that!

I’ll continue to document the journey right here on Medium. I hope it doesn’t seem like bragging about my “good deeds.” Rather, I’ll be treating it as personal reflection, as much for myself as for others! I hope that as a result, these posts can encourage others to live generously.

If you’re inspired to take on the generosity challenge, definitely check it out right here.