100 Days – Who Would have Guessed?

06/17/2015 by theappreciationfactor 7 Comments

A few posts ago, I’d shared that I’d been feeling challenged and a little overwhelmed. Today I reached a goal I didn’t think possible and which has really given me a boost.

 

Back in March, I’d been working extremely hard on a professional goal, yet hadn’t seen much success when my career coach suggested I take a step back, as well as incorporate/make time to exercise to help create some balance in my life. If you know me, I’m not big in to working out. It’s just not my thing.  However, as you may know, when you don’t work out and you still eat the things you love that aren’t always terribly healthy, well let’s just say, you can experience growth. I’m not talking about the good kind as in mentally, spiritually or professional. We’re talking girth.

Sigh…..

I left my meeting with him saying, “Well why not? Exercise cannot hurt. A plus, I’ll gain my wardrobe back.”
That was day 1.

Today I’m happy proud to say I reached my first goal of working out for 100 days straight!  

 

Not the Original Plan

I didn’t initially start out with 100 days in mind. I started with 21 – the number needed to create a habit.  From there it went to, “Can I make it 30 days?” and then, “why not 90?” to finally 100.  By working out, I mean walking, perhaps running in spurts to that telephone pole or as long as can run – think 3-4 blocks, (now it’s a little longer).  I’m not a fan of running so it’s typically been walking at a very brisk pace.  It has also meant exercise DVDs, exercise classes, walking on the beach, or biking. Really, anything that purposefully got me moving and my heart rate up each and every day – that was my goal.

It WAS NOT EASY and I did not always gracefully go about it. Sometimes all I could manage was a short 10-15 minute walk around the block, or I’d complain that, “I have to do this” as if I was held at gun point. It’s still not something I necessarily “want” to do each day, but I do it anyway because I know I’ll be better for it.  I’m proud to say that I have not missed a day since the start of my quest back in March.  That accomplishment alone feels great.

 

The one piece that I haven’t shared is that I’ve appreciated the simple fact that I’ve actually been able to get out there and be active for this many days straight. Last year I went through a health scare that was physically debilitating. At times I could barely walk or get in and out of bed or a chair. I was constantly in pain and really thought that there may be a chance that I’d never recover.  Since I’d never experienced anything like this, I’d never truly appreciated my ability to be mobile and simply get up to turn on a light. It’s interesting and somewhat sad how much you take for granted until you no longer can do it.  I know I never will again.

While taking on this goal, at times I feared would bring back those symptoms again. Happily it has not.  NOW… I’m looking forward to Day 101 and perhaps Day 150. (I haven’t decided how long I’ll go from here.  I’ll just keep going until I don’t.)

 

I hope this may inspire you to be more active. It only takes 1 step, and 1 day to start. There is NO ONE who is measuring your success but you.  If going around the block is all you can do at first, hey, it’s better than sitting at home and not getting active at all.

I am also not promoting that you too work out each and every day without breaks. I tend to go big when I take on a challenge and as I mentioned, I knew I needed to do it for 21 days straight in the beginning to create that habit because I didn’t enjoy doing it. However, I also know that there are those of you who likely can make exercising, if you choose to do it, something you incorporate in your life without doing it every day.  I wish you success no matter how you go about it and no matter how you define it.

 Good Luck! 

– TAF