Sometimes we start healthy routines with the best of intentions, but sticking to it can be hard. Our daily lives can make scheduling exercise and eating healthy a problem when we’re already busy or tired. But, one thing that might make it easier is when we’re handed tools and offered prizes.

While the biggest prize of making changes in our lives is improved health, that can sometimes be a distant goal and abstract. When you have smaller steps, it can be way easier. Each time you accomplish a task, your brain rewards you with dopamine. That can help you stay on your path and give you a sense of accomplishment as you go along.

February is Heart Health Month. In preparation, Mayo Health Clinic has created a virtual challenge called the “Passport to Heart Health.” Each week you will receive activities with three categories: eat, learn and do. You will be given a recipe, an article or educational video and a physical activity to perform. You must complete at least one of the tasks for each of the categories weekly. At the end of the month, you will receive a survey that will make you eligible for a prize. You must register by February 1 to participate. It’s free to take part, so join today!

We like that Mayo Health Clinic hasn’t announced the prize. It could be a t-shirt for Mayo Health Clinic, it could be an iPhone. That actually makes us more interested in sticking to the challenge. We’re curious by nature, so the anticipation of a surprise prize makes us pretty excited and helps us keep going.

We also like that they are gathering the materials for us. Often, what takes a person off course from a health plan isn’t that they are unhappy or undisciplined but because they don’t have time. We spend so much time, in our personal lives, looking for dinner plans, trying to find out reliable information about heart health and figuring out the best exercise for our goals. Getting suggestions and resources makes it so much easier to live a healthy life. We like how simple this “challenge” is! It’s less of a challenge and more of a month’s worth of assisted training to help us stay the course.

We think this challenge is well worth participating in this month. It’s free and interesting. It can introduce you to more heart-healthy recipes than you can get through in a month and give you tons of great information and ideas. Having assistance for a month can help you get used to a routine and make it easier to stick to for a longer time.

Join today!