Members of the PRCC Singers are no strangers to challenging themselves when it comes to their vocal abilities. Now, they are embracing a new challenge that will help develop their skills as musicians, leaders and humans.
The “204060 Challenge” is the brainchild of Dr. LaDona Tyson, Director of Choral Groups at PRCC, and Dr. Trevor Hunt, Director of the Brownstone Center for the Arts. It was inspired by other health and fitness challenges that have grown in popularity.
The goal is to have participants hold themselves to the highest possible standard in life. This translates into daily discipline that allows them to become a better friend, student, employee and servant.
“I was inspired by the ‘75 Hard Challenge’ that was started by entrepreneur and best-selling author Andy Frisella,” said Tyson. “It revolves around daily discipline through achieving numerous tasks each day and tracking those in an app. I felt that my students could benefit both personally and as a team from going through a daily discipline challenge together.
“Part of the ‘Wildcat Way’ is equipping our students to be successful in life outside of the classroom, so these daily tasks are designed to facilitate growth as musicians, but more importantly, as contributing members of society.”
Participants of the 204060 Challenge must complete six daily tasks over the course of 20, 40 and 60 days. Tasks include daily reading, healthy eating, exercise, water in-take, a social media post with #204060challenge in the caption, and daily practice of choir music.
The 204060 Challenge began on October 1 and will conclude on February 1. Participants who miss a day of completing all six tasks can restart at any point.
Each participant was given the book “The Code. The Evaluation. The Protocols: Striving to Become an Eminently Qualified Human” by Jocko Willink, a 204060challenge reminder wrist band, and a 64-ounce water bottle.
When thinking through the specifics of the challenge, Hunt and Tyson knew that reading leadership books would be a high priority and wanted them to start with the same book.
“The title we selected explores leadership through daily discipline. It was as perfect fit for our challenge,” said Tyson.
During the challenge, participants will collaborate to identify a need in the community, and at the end of the challenge they will lead a service project to meet that need.
Freshman music major Jonathan Freeman likes how this challenge emphasizes routine.
“Laziness is the absence of routine; the 204060challenge helps counter-react laziness.” said Freeman. “I do love how this challenge asks us to read something encouraging daily. As simple and cliche as it may seem it really does make a difference to have positivity and encouragement spoken into your life daily.
“I'm doing this challenge to help put myself into a healthier routine, not only for me but also to set an example for my friends and family. I hope to gain a healthier routine and the mindset to keep pushing through when things get hard in life.”
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