One Habit, Two Years Later

If you read my last blog and decided to start walking every day, how has it been going?

It has now been about two years since I made walking 10,000 steps a day part of my routine, and I can honestly say it was one of the best decisions I have ever made for my health. When I first started, I thought the biggest benefit would be burning a few extra calories, but I quickly realized there was so much more to it than that. Looking back now, I can see how one simple habit quietly improved different parts of my life without me even noticing at first.

I have definitely lost a few pounds from walking alone, and even better, I have been able to maintain that weight without constantly stressing over it. That was something I never really expected because walking always felt too simple to make a meaningful difference. Turns out, simple does not mean ineffective, and consistency has a funny way of proving people wrong.

The biggest surprise for me has actually been my sleep.

Over the past couple of years, I feel like I have been sleeping better on most nights. I am not saying every night is perfect because life still happens, but I usually fall asleep faster after spending time moving throughout the day. There is something about finishing those walks that makes both my body and my mind feel like they actually accomplished something instead of sitting behind a screen for hours.

The hardest part has never been the walking itself. The hardest part has always been making time for it because life has a way of pulling me in ten different directions. Between work, content creation, meetings, cleaning the house, and everything else that somehow lands on my calendar, finding an hour to myself can feel surprisingly difficult.

Have you ever noticed how errands somehow multiply the moment you decide to go for a walk?

There are days when I tell myself I should knock out my steps first, but then I remember I need groceries, I need to stop by the bank, or I need to run across town for one more thing. Other days, I convince myself that I will finish my errands first, then suddenly it is getting dark and I am debating whether I should just skip my walk altogether. It feels like a constant push and pull between taking care of myself and taking care of everything else.

Sometimes the errands win.

I have learned not to beat myself up when that happens because tomorrow is another opportunity to get back on track. There have been plenty of times when I made up for a missed day by doubling my steps the next day. Walking 20,000 steps is definitely not something I want to do every week, but every now and then it reminds me that missing one day does not erase months or years of consistency.

One lesson I have really embraced is that perfection is overrated. I used to think one missed day meant I was falling behind, but now I understand that one missed day is just... one missed day. What matters is getting back out there instead of letting one skipped walk turn into an entire skipped week.

I still have those moments where I look at my schedule and wonder where I am supposed to fit everything in.

Even after two years, I have to make conscious decisions about my priorities. Sometimes that means putting off an errand until tomorrow, and other times it means squeezing in a walk before dinner even when I would rather relax. Those little decisions are rarely exciting, but they have quietly shaped the person I have become.

If you started walking after reading my last post, I hope you are already noticing some of those small victories. Maybe you have a little more energy, maybe you are sleeping a little better, or maybe you simply feel proud that you kept a promise to yourself today. Whatever your progress looks like, keep going because those small daily wins have a way of becoming life changing before you even realize it. Two years later, I am still putting one foot in front of the other, and I cannot wait to see where the next two years take me.

Just realized if I was doing 10k steps a day for 2 years… that's like 7.3 million steps!