Can I be honest with you? I don’t handle time pressure really well. When life gets busy and I have a lot of things competing for my attention I feel anxiety start to build. I need margin. I actually take great care to build that into my schedule. But, these days we got some stuff going on and I don’t fully control my calendar.

That is making this 20k One Year Step Challenge a…well…challenge. I’m committed to getting at least 20,000 steps every day for a year with no breaks. Last week was Week Four. As you can see I got the steps with quite a few extra on a couple days.

Those days were Tuesday and Wednesday. That’s when the I felt the time crunch most acutely. To be clear, I don’t mean those were the busiest two days. They weren’t. This calendar issue actually involves the next several weeks, at least. It also involves some things that we can’t control and will require our time and attention. Tuesday and Wednesday is simply when I felt the weight of all that.

I was in the car driving when the anxiety started. For some, driving is relaxing. Not for me. It’s when I feel stress the most. And, it’s not a “traffic sucks” and I’m simply reacting to that. I work some really weird hours and generally miss heavy traffic. It’s just my mind starts dwelling on everything I have to do and I wonder how I’m going to get it all done.

I suspect the car is not the best place for me because I’m sitting. Seriously. I’m a better person when I’m moving. I’m able to gain clarity and think more creatively when I’m walking. There’s actually research that backs this up. Our brains work better when we are walking.

So, Tuesday and Wednesday I moved. A lot. I was able to get a handle on the calendar issues I can control and think through how to build in some flexibility for the things I can’t. Those walks also put me in a better mood. I was grateful for that.

In several posts recently I’ve alluded to “stuff” we are facing. At some point I’ll explain what that is. I can’t right now. What I can say is this. The 20k One Year Step Challenge is both terrible and great for me while this is going on. It’s terrible because it feels like one more thing that has to get done. I’ve even wondered if it was a mistake to try this right now. But, it’s not. Combined with prayer, it’s exactly what I need.   

30 DAY FITNESS CHALLENGE

If you struggle with making fitness stick you can change that today. The 30 Day Fitness Challenge will help you begin building a fitness habit that creates fitness momentum which eventually leads to fitness transformation.

Walking is fitness hiding in plain sight. The 30 Day Fitness Challenge will help you set the perfect Fitbit goal for you. The Challenge includes a contract you can make with yourself. That might sound cheesy, but having a signed piece of paper is a powerful motivator on those days when you just don’t feel like it.

Every day you reach your Fitbit goal is a win. The 30 Day Fitness Challenge includes a Win Tracker to celebrate your progress every day!

Best of all…The 30 Day Fitness Challenge is free!!

If you don’t have a Fitbit I recommend the Fitbit Inspire HR. This is the Fitbit I use to track my 20,000 steps a day. The Inspire HR also tracks your heart rate and sleep so you get an even wider picture of your fitness progress.

(By the way…if you use the link above to but a Fitbit Inspire HR this blog will receive a small commission. It won’t add anything to what you pay, but letting you know is the right thing to do)

Lastly, this blog is designed to help you embrace walking as a fitness activity. It’s sustainable, flexible, effective, and fun. Every week I post new articles with stories and helpful suggestions to Win at Fitness.

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