When my market leader called me to tell me I had won $2,000 from the Thrive Challenge, I was initially shocked! Usually, you start these things and nothing really comes out of them. But first and foremost, I just wanted to win. I’m the sole income in my family, and my husband stays home and takes care of the kids. It’s been pretty tough for us.
The Thrive Challenge has helped me save in every way I can.
When I was first introduced to the Thrive app at our year-beginning meeting in 2021, I started with my spending habits. Small things like setting reminders to pay bills on time and removing a couple of non-essential items from the shopping cart have helped me save.
We used the prize money to convert one of the rooms in our house into a gym.
We saw a spin bike that was on sale, and we purchased it. It’s not just for me, but for the whole entire family. We also got a few dumbbells, resistance bands, and yoga mats. We used the rest of the money to help with some late bills, and that’s just pressure and stress off my mind. Money and fitness are always my top journeys when I use the Thrive app, and the $2,000 helped cater to some of the wishes that I had on both ends.
Initially, I lost a hundred pounds.
I wanted to lose all this weight, but I was depriving myself of all the great food that I love. I just wasn’t sustainable. I gained back some of that weight. But now I’ve got a good sense of what my body is looking for. I can still eat the foods that I love and not make it such a harsh journey with wellness. Your body needs rest. I make sure that I’m putting that rest time in the week as well, just so I have a good balance.
I’m a store manager here at Walmart, and people look at me as a role model.
When you start the Thrive Challenge, you start seeing the change in yourself and how you present yourself. Others see the change in how you lead because you’re more confident. I’ve been an ambassador for Thrive ever since I started. We’ve got a Thrive hall of fame set up in our back hallway, so every single employee that walks past it can see all of the winners. So far, we’ve had three $2,000 winners just from this store. I actually made a video compiling everybody using the Thrive app and sent it up to the market, and now it’s playing on a loop in the break room in 14 stores. I’m sharing my QR code and inviting friends to use the app, not only because of the benefits to yourself, but all of the wonderful incentives, too.
We’re establishing something at our store called Thrive Thursdays.
We’re just planning it right now, but it’s going to be a committee with people that we’re mentoring to be the best they can be. We want to make sure they’re in the right headspace to be at their best when they’re at work and leading their people. We meet and we come up with great events to happen at the store.
What really worked for me about the Thrive Challenge is the community.
There are strangers on the app you don’t even know, yet you can see their stories of what motivated them. It’s pretty amazing being able to go on the app, and look at everybody’s struggles, their wins, and what they were able to do — the journeys are really, really inspiring. And it’s been amazing to speak to fellow winners and Thrive Challenge participants. I feel like they’re friends, even if we’ve never met in person!
I’ve taken it upon myself to bring Thrive and self-development outside the four walls of a store.
I’ve been communicating with a local organization called Streets Alive Mission and I hope to begin volunteering with them. And I’ll definitely share the app with people that I meet along the way. It makes me feel good that I’m able to do that for others. The power of connection is what I see when I think about the Thrive app. People have the same struggles — maybe to different degrees — but it can help you be the best that you can be.
— Ro Opinga, Walmart Supercentre #1078; Lethbridge, AB; $5K Grand Champion Winner
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