Maybe not new, but almost certainly improved!
I was flying high this past week with my new step goals. Having a goal was always key, I knew. But having individualized daily goals has really helped me. This week, I felt more energized when I considered my steps. It wasn’t this looming “Well, you have 35,000 steps to do this week which might as well be a million with three kids and that never ending rain.” Having a smaller, more attainable number eased so much stress I didn’t know I had.
I think I was unconsciously mentally sabotaging myself with the weekly goal. I would look at my fit bit and be like, “Ah, you’re only at 4,052. You’ll never reach 35,000 before bedtime. Might as well lay down and obsess over the weight of life’s problems.
Two points if you know where that’s from.
Ah, you guessed it. You’re so smart.
I didn’t have to reach 35,000 by bedtime, but because that was the number I associated with reaching my goal, that became the daily goal. Which was too much. Hence the laying down and obsessing over the weight of life’s problems. Have a specific daily goal alleviated that feeling of defeat. Several times this week, I was looked at my FitBit and was like, “Ah, 4052. Only 1200 to go! I can do it before bedtime for sure!” It was a real Fitbit half empty/half full situation.
One of the best things about the individualized daily goals is that they change from day to day. This kept me on my toes, kept me focused on my goal (because I had to check my journal everyday to remember what the goal was) and also gave me a little bit of a “break” on my lower step days. I don’t know if physically there is that much of a difference between 5100 and 5400 steps, but I definitely remember being like “Ahhhh, tomorrow is only 5100. I can take it easy.”
Because really, the mentality of the fitness journey is half the battle. That was a big takeaway for this week. There was a comment on last week’s blog where a reader reminded me to Just Keep Swimming. I thought about that almost every day during this week. It was a lot easier to keep swimming, to keep moving forward, when my head was in a positive place.
Spoiler alert: I did not meet my goals every day. But I did meet my goals some days! And on the days I didn’t, I did not beat myself up about it. In fact, two days I completely forgot to wear my FitBit. The first was on accident. I forgot to put it on Saturday after my shower and by the time I realized it half the day was gone and I was like, “ahhhh my wrist feels so light.” I rode that lightness all the way to Sunday. I made the choice not to wear my FitBit on Sunday. I wanted to be celebrate Easter without worrying about anything. This Easter looked different than any other Easter we’ve ever celebrated and I wanted to be wholly present for my family. I wanted to hunt for eggs with my girls without being like, “ooooooo, I wonder how many steps all this frolicking will get me.”
I gave myself permission to take that day off. I have no idea how many steps I did on Sunday and I couldn’t be happier.
With schedules so abruptly altered and all the days looking very much the same, it can be tempting to go into a high functioning mode as your base behavior. To live every day as your most productive day. With the distinction between “busy days” and “rest days”, “work days” and “home days” all but gone, it can be easy to fall in this trap. In fact, I think I did. Maybe that’s part of the subconscious step stress: I was expecting every day to be my best day and when none of them were, I felt like a failure.
Reevaluating my goals was great, but the real revelation was reevaluating my mindset. It’s okay to take a beat, take a breath, take a break. Even if those breaks happen in the same space where you work/quaranteach. Everyday does not need to be a Wednesday, even if every day might as well be a Wednesday.
Monday, April 6th
- Goal: 5400 Steps
- Actual: 5,364 steps
So close! It might as well count.
Tuesday, April 7th
- Goal: 5100 steps
- Actual: 5,247 steps
Did it!
Wednesday, April 8th
- Goal: 5400 steps
- Actual: 5,785 steps
Did it again!
Thursday, April 9th
- Goal: 5100 steps
- Actual: 3,115 steps
Did not do it. But did not beat myself up. Progress!
Friday, April 10th
- Goal: 7000 steps
- Actual: 3,220 steps
Not even close. But just going to keep swimming.
Saturday, April 11th
- Goal: 5000 steps
- Actual: 0 steps
I’m sure I got as least as many steps these two weekend days as my lowest day, Thursday. But I’m pretty proud that I can see that 0 and not lose my mind.
Sunday, April 12
- Goal: 7000 steps
- Actual: 0 steps
Happy Easter!
Every week I ask you how your fitness journey is going. This week I want to change it up a little: how’s your morale? Are you taking beats and breaks and breaths? Are you being kind to yourself and allowing for imperfection? Are you struggling under the weight of unseen step stress? Wherever you are today, you’re doing great. We are in unchartered waters here, but we’re all swimming together. I’m rooting for you this week, and every week.
Kristen B. is wife to the best Prince around, mama to the spunkiest little princesses, and lover of all things Disney. She started her savings journey five years ago and is now dedicated to making her family’s wishes come true one coupon at a time. She is so excited to take her love of saving to the next level and share her journey with you! Click here to catch up on Kristen’s Savings and join in on your own savings adventure!