Along the way, we found examples of the power of 20. So here are a few to explore. Have fun!
20 seconds of courage can change your life. I heard this brave rule from Benjamin Mee in last weekend’s movie We Bought A Zoo (2011). Mee’s (Matt Damon) 20 seconds led him to the woman of his dreams and more: “You know, sometimes all you need is twenty seconds of insane courage. Just literally twenty seconds of just embarrassing bravery. And I promise you, something great will come of it.” The movie was awesome – you can check out this post for the why and how as well as a challenge to find your 20 seconds of courage.
The 20-Second Rule for building better habits! This rule can not only be used to build new empowering habits; it can be used to ease the transition between negative and positive ones as well. Read this post to better understand this rule of thumb for experimenting with the 20-second rule: You need to decrease the activation energy you need to do positive habits and increase it to do negative habits.
20 seconds to a cleaner pair of hands. We’ve been inundated with this rule – so here’s a fun twist: lyrics for a 20-second scrub sure to get your fingers dancing. And if you’d like to know more about the science behind the 20-second scrub, read here.
A 20-second game to hone fast thinking and memory! Check out Speedy Scribbles, the 20 seconds for 20 sketches drawing game. Read this review, pick up the game here or on Amazon, or check out this piece on the neuroscience of games and memory. Scribbles not your style? Check out these 7 games that also boost memory.
What 20 seconds of hugging can do for you! Decrease cortisol (stress levels. Increase oxytocin levels. Facilitate bonding between partners. And it’s not the number of hugs, it’s the length – apparently, 20 seconds is the sweet spot. Did you know January 21 is National Hugging Day?
The 20-20-20 rule helps prevent eye strain and dry eye. The rule says that for every 20 minutes spent looking at a screen, a person should look at something 20 feet away for 20 seconds. This post offers the science and how to create the habit.
The 20-second brain health test provides a surprising amount of information. The test is to balance on one leg for 20 seconds with the eyes open. Read more here and here. Follow along on this one-legged blind balance test by Skimble. Need or want to improve balance? Here is help from Mayo Clinic and Prevention. Check out more healthy brain tests here.
Even a 20-second exercise snack can improve fitness! Good news as we enter this holiday season with way more to do than time to do it. The snack is stair climbing and you need to snack more than once. Read about the study here. Caveat: it does not elevate fitness as much as the single sessions of repeated stair climbing.
*Be sure to check in for our final Top 20 list coming in December … it will be a fun one! In meantime, if you missed any of the past, here’s the “list”!
- Top 20 Resources (some old, some new)
- A Top 20 List of Top 20 Lists
- 20 things you can do for your chapters
- 20 Volunteer Stats for Your Summer Reading
- Need a reason to Volunteer? Here’s 20!
- Short & Sweet: 20 Ad hoc & Micro Volunteers Roles
- 20 Volunteer Truths That Never Grow Old
- Show Your Volunteers the Love During #NVW!: 20 cool ideas
- From the Past: 20 Posts That Still Resonate
- 20 Years and Counting!
*Photo by Matthew Ball on Unsplash