Day 4: Rituals to Habits

11/20/2015
Steps 10621

Are you a churchgoer? Do you hit McDonald's every morning on your way to work? Do you stagger down the stairs, zombie like and get the coffee going while you run through and unconscious list of morning rituals.

Well, over the decades most people developed dozens of these habits. Some mandated by nature, like staggering into the bathroom as soon as you drag your butt out of bed. Most are just repeated ways of doing this or that. Things we do, almost without thinking, that get us from one day to the next.

Some, like stopping for a beer after work, or chatting with friends at the local diner while we sip on coffee and munch a sandwich, make life more enjoyable.

But they often have unwanted side effects. Such as a slowly expanding waistline or clogging arteries. And that is why you are reading this blog.

For the next year we will start new rituals and change old ones, slowly turning each one into a lifelong habit.

One small step at a time.

Get a Pedometer

Yes, now we are going to walk a bit. Or, more importantly, think about walking a bit.

Remember our rules, no big moves, no drastic changes, just slow and easy.

Pedometers are everywhere now days, and cheap. Mine was supplied by the VA for free.

Take note of this veterans. The VA can help with lots of info, hardware and even programs to help you stay healthy, including their MOVE program.

Like many organizations and businesses, they have realized that healthy people save them a vast of amount of money in the long run.

But back to walking. Like I said, you're not going to get a pedometer and start walking 10 miles a day. That is work, and a great way to screw things up.

All we are doing right now is watching. For the first week or two, all we are doing is putting it on and watching how many steps we do in a day.

What we are doing here is starting a ritual that will become a habit, that will over time, improve our health.

The ritual is putting on the pedometer and checking it now and then. Our long-term goal is 5000 steps a day and 10,000 steps once or twice a week.

On average it's about 2000 steps to a mile. I know, 10,000 steps may sound like a lot, and probably is, if you spend your days glued to a TV or computer monitor. But when you start watching that pedometer, you'll be surprised at how fast those steps pile up.

For you more techy folks, there are dozens of apps for your smart phone that measure and keep track of everything from pulse rate to how far you walk and where. Go for it!

I like it simple. I am happy with my pedometer and a small notebook.

Remember, we are simply watching the steps we are taking during the day, not walking a marathon. What you'll notice as the weeks go by, is it's just like our 1 bite rule. The more you think about it, the more you do it.

You'll start thinking about walking here and there, not for the exercise, but just to watch the numbers go up on that pedometer. It becomes kind of a challenge, but one that is slow, and not very stressful or demanding. Just what we are looking for.

KRASH

Krashsplace.com

PlaceMarkBooks.com