Body
I realized last week that if I didn’t have this project, if I didn’t have you to report to every week, I would not have walked a single day of the past 7 days. I bet I wouldn’t have walked more than a few days in January before life got the best of me.
Instead, on Monday I am taking my 63rd walk of the year.
Never, not even when I was an over-exercising teenager, have I exercised every day of my life and I never exercised so consistently and moderately and thoughtfully.
But I still would have blown it last week if it wasn’t for this Monday update. There was so much on my plate, so much Andrea and I were trying to accomplish in a really short amount of time, that I would find myself pushing my walk off for a better time. Then, the boys would get home and I would cut my walk because of dinner or practice or blogging or just because it was the end of the day and I was tired. I had one great walk–Tuesday–where I walked 4 miles. The rest of the week consisted of 0.5-1.0 mile walks around the neighborhood.
Here is what I learned this week. Successful exercising, just like everything else, is about being a little selfish. When that person I needed to email me would finally do so at her own damn convenience, I shouldn’t have stopped what I was doing to sit by the computer and hope beyond hope that she would reply to my reply before disappearing again for days. I should have made her wait for a change and gone for my walk. And the next day, when she decided it was a great day to email, I should have let her email away until I came back from my walk. On the days there was baseball practice, a tax appointment, and Mikey’s book report, I should have gone on my walk first and let figure it out for an hour or two.
That’s my goal for this week.
Mind and Spirit
Oh, how I am sucking in this department. I think this all boils down to time management, and how I show none. I was spotty in both these areas last week. Again, I think the key will be for me to do these things first thing in the morning. Maybe the gratitude journal last thing at night if I want any sort of accuracy and authenticity. I’m not a psychic, you know.
Soundtrack
Apropos of nothing, this week I couldn’t get this song off repeat while I walked. It’s an old favorite of mine.
Oh that’s a good song choice. Somehow Bob Dylan makes feeling down feel so good….
Doesn’t he? It’s a sad song, but it still manages to convey hope.
I am so very impressed with you and your progress, truly! Every time I see a picture of your happy feet in my Instagram feed with the number of days, I’m just awed. It reminds me of that quote about how you can get far a step at a time (sorry, that’s terrible paraphrasing, but hopefully you know which quote I mean, I bet you do!) I look at your number and think, holy cow it’s been X amount of days already?! She is amazing! :) I would have given up long, long ago…
I can’t give up! I have all you gals cheering me on. Pretty hard to give up when you have so much support. :)
A previous minister of mine gave some excellent advice about the necessity to be selfish. Paraphrased (’cause it’s been 5 years or so):
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We have come to believe that meeting our own needs first is selfish – however, it’s important that we meet our own needs first so that we can be a better version of our self. Being that better version pours out into what we do, and therefore improves other things (or people) we engage in.
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All of that just to get me to understand that I could say “no” when he asked me to volunteer in (yet another) position, LOL
This made me laugh out loud!!
“Successful exercising, just like everything else, is about being a little selfish.” Yes. And no. Last Thursday I went to the gym for the first time in nearly two months. I went even though it was my only night last week to be with my son. I went even though it felt sucky to make that kind of choice. I went because, in a very real way, going serves him more than staying home would have. Going felt selfish, but I can’t give what I want to give when I feel as horrible as I’ve felt the past two months. I went because it’s the only time no-migraine has coincided with class for the past two months and I had to. I’m glad I did.
If any of this were easy, everyone would be fit and healthy. Reading your posts is encouragement and nudge (sometimes shove :-)) for me. Thank you for writing them. And getting out there.
That’s true. Perhaps it only seems selfish because of the way we have been socialized.
I wanted to tell you you’ve inspired me to take a daily walk! I’m also reading The Power of Habit, which is teaching me all sorts of things about habits like walking.
I walk first thing in the morning. I wake up, brush my teeth, pull on some clothes (exercise or otherwise), put on my coat and walk out the door. I don’t time my walks, I don’t bring any sort of GPS. I bring my iPod shuffle with an audiobook on it (A Brief History of Nearly Everything–fascinating!), which I listen to sometimes. Sometimes I just walk with my thoughts. Then I come home, and start my day.
Doing it first thing has been great for me. I love the way starting my day with fresh air in my lungs makes me feel. And I love being connected to the weather. A couple of weeks ago we had this terrible wet snow/slush overnight, and the sidewalks were flooded with slushy ice. I walked through it, and my feet did get a little wet. But somehow I enjoyed it–I was a part of my environment, I wasn’t just hiding from it inside.
Anyway, thanks for the inspiration!
That’s so awesome, Liz! Keep up the great work–and if you’re on Instragram please tag me!
Day 63. I find it crazy-hard to believe that this many walks have happened in such a short amount of time. My walks haven’t all been uber long either. Sometimes, I’m just getting out the door, giving-up a bit of time to do x,y, or z (mostly writing…maybe some of it sitting).
Isn’t it interesting how taking a walk, prioritizing health, doing things that make you feel good…that they are somehow akin to selfishness? That actually taking care of ourselves is selfish. I find this wildly strange. What a weird society we live in.
A couple of times, I’ve seen your feet photos, and they’ve been just the kick in the ass I’ve needed to get out the door. It is like I can keep a promise to a stranger, that I can’t even keep to myself. How strange…strange, strange, strange. But also, good, great, excellent. Thank you.
I wonder where I would be without the photographs of my feet? In a way, they motivate me, too. And yes, we live in a strange society.
First – I really like that top picture. That plant is so interesting – and look! There are those cute little feet! :)
I quit smoking 22 years ago by announcing to everyone I knew – friends, family, the dry cleaner, the office – that I was doing it. Pre-internet all I could do was talk about it, and I did many times in the days leading up to D-Day. I knew the public humiliation of failing was the impetus I needed. It worked and I never (well, hardly ever) looked back.
Whatever works!
That is an asparagus fern, though it’s not a fern–it’s part of the lily family. It’s a drought tolerant plant that does very well here. I love them.
I’ve exercised several times in the past few weeks solely because I know my friend Amber is doing it, too. And she has four kids. And somehow manages. So I can too.
I love reading these updates. They motivate me. Thanks!
Thank you, Katherine–that’s great to hear. Makes me feel good about the posts which, I admit, can be kinda boring sometimes.
All these feet photos, spell perseverance. That’s a virtue in my books and I don’t mean to flatter you… Go go Go :) Alternatively, we can come up with a way to photograph your mind and/or spirit ;)
I am mesmerized by that first picture. Surely those bushes… Are they bushes? Lead somewhere fantastic like Alice in Wonderland meets Narnia!
Haha- I feel like I’m playing “where’s waldo” with your feet!!! I’m also sucking in the Bible reading. Keep putting it off and now I’m totally lost and have no idea what today’s reading is and if I’m anywhere near being caught up. I knew I should have converted this to a calendar. Uggh!