10 000 steps a day and how realistic is that
About the pressure of sameness
Don’t get me wrong I love walking! Actually I adore walking. It is something I was able to do for quite a few years on a daily basis, 10 000 steps and more without a problem. At that time I was thinking … it’s not at all difficult to introduce this to your daily routine. But hey it was manageable because of the way my life looked like at the time. Strange how I immediately extrapolated and was thinking … if I can, everybody can. Ha ha ha Isn’t it laughable? Just like you see all sort of “do gooders” on line telling you about the latest fashionable thing they are now doing (they might be only doing that particular good thing for a day or two) and end up with “if I can, you can”. Hmmm
The other day, on a beautiful Sunday (yep one of those rare days when the sun was shining) I got my black trainers from the shelf, jacket, rucksack and off I went for a walk … in the neighbourhood. Having moved a year or so ago I still love doing the same walk when I have some time on my hand. This is a walk in the countryside, through a touch of forest, a village, more forest and then the end point is a coffee shop. Not too bad is it! Always great to have a clearly defined destination, an incentive to keep going knowing that at the end of it one will have a nice experience.
Well, not always as a few weeks ago, or maybe months I reached my destination with a lot of trepidation, ordered my coffee only to realise ..I had no money to pay for it. Cannot tell you the disappointment I had to endure … walked back slowly, kicking myself metaphorically speaking and dragging my feet with a lot of self recrimination. Oh well this was in the past. On that beautiful, sunny, cold day I had my wallet in my bag, I was able to absorb the colours around me, notice the cows and the sheep, the horses and the ducky ducks. At time, walking through the forest makes me think of Vasilisa - a Russian folktale - and the need to have a little wise doll advising me what to do, which turn to take, how to solve the latest problem I am faced with.
If there is a colour I like in this country, actually shades of that colour is green. One can almost feel the energy of the green around the moss, the grass, the trees.
Sometimes, I have headphones on and listen to talks, music, anything that can help me numb my own thoughts. This time, I forgot them back at base and … “had” to brace myself and listen not only to my thoughts but to the sounds around me .. and what would you believe it I had a great time discovering things and sounds … a tiny river I had clue about, the birds chirping happily, the horses’s hooves “marching” behind me and ahead of me .. a myriad of sounds I blocked so many times.
OK so on that day I was able to walk about 10500 steps, congratulated myself, drank an extra cup of tea to celebrate, sat on the sofa and hardly moved for the next 4 hours until dinner time and I had to cook.
This was on a Sunday, a day off. Then I thought about my weekly routine … let’s think ….wake up, move around the place (hardly 200 steps under my belt), jump in the car (what a strange expression), car park (50 maybe 100 extra steps until I reach the building), find my chair and … one hour goes by, and another and one other more … until I stand up to get a cup of tea or coffee … hurray I am moving (many times this trips to get some hot drinks is simply a pretext to move a bit), then back again to my chair and my desk. A couple of times I do the same routine so let’s say a few more steps. It is 1.30pm so lunch time and I have about 550 steps under my belt. Shall we say about 4 more hours later I will have 900 steps done and achieved. Let’s think .. how can I improve this ….hmmmm
What can I do at lunchtime … a walk around the building maybe, a few rounds of tai chi (just did the short form a couple of times today - hmmm about 100 steps added) and this is about it. Then 50 more steps to the car and … out of the car, back at base and … done. How many steps can one achieve in a small house … trust me not many. So cooking, dinner out of the way .. it’s 8 o’clock, it’s cold and dark outside. What can one do to get more steps under ones’s belt? I am not sure!
My point is we are not the same, our lives are complex and the so called norms pushed by the authorities and the so called scientists (scientists are without any shadow of a doubt on my black list - ready to sell their soul to whoever pays more) is not THE NORM but one norm applicable to certain people with certain lifestyles. We all need to find what is applicable to our lives and not pay so much attention to the fashionable app, the so call MUST do’s that one or another is pushing relentlessly.
What one achieves most of the time when one keeps watching whatever is the latest norm is disappointment and it ends up as yet another failure on a list which is already too long or one is faced with another mega norm which overrides the one before and sends people on another chasing game
I wonder how would our lives be without all of these so called scientists, gurus discoveries and MUST DO lists? How would we organise our lives? I bet in a more intuitive way, closer to our specific needs and circumstances. And .. we would be way way happier I am sure of that!
What if at the end of your daily routine, on one of those “same same” days you get out of your house, put your hand around yourself and simple be. Simply be and hold yourself … you’ve done so much and yet you are pushed you believe you’ve done nothing or so little. What if change comes from telling yourself everything that you have done and it feels right over and over again? And then you go back inside and do what the hell you want to do.
In a nutshell, here is what I am planning to do. Ask myself what works for me now, today. I might not achieve the 10000 steps again and maybe I don’t even need to .. maybe I will do a cardio routine and maybe a yoga routine and maybe I will simply put my feet up and do nothing today without guilt, without a sense of failure. Maybe I will show myself some compassion today and that’s OK!
Time for a bit of drawing, a cup of tea as .. one drawing a day keeps the low mood away :)
10,000 is a solid amount of activity. I also look to hit it daily. That said, a uniform number doesn't work for everyone. It's about assessing where you're at and making incremental progress. Nice post
Absolutely! I find it quite infuriating the forever growing lists of have to do, must do. The more humanity is being told to do this and the other the worse it is for all of us :) in my not so humble opinion :) thanks a lot for your comment!