300,000 baby steps

Our company rolled out "Step Up to the Challenge" in MoveSpring, where in the course of 40 days, employees who signed up to the challenge will have to complete 300K steps by the end of the period. That's at least 7,500 steps a day! I know that to others that is fairly easy -- so easy that there are 878 other employees who did better than me. But for someone who only walks when she feels like it, this requires more than the usual commitment and consistency. 

They say that what determines one's success to stick to a certain task is the level of difficulty of the task. The perfect level is just beyond one's current level of ability. If it is too easy, we become bored. If it is too hard, we become discouraged. So, we try to find the middle ground -- not too easy, not too difficult. By my assessment, this challenge was within the Goldilocks Rule sweet spot. 

I must admit that I was a bit hesitant to sign up. I looked at my calendar and the time period was smack in the middle of some pretty hectic days like Chinese New Year, lawyers' national convention, and my high school reunion. I might not be able to carve out a time for walking on those days. I did not want to over-exert myself on some days to make up for lost opportunity. I needed to stay on the sweet spot. 

True enough, with 15 days to go, I had a backlog of 150,000 steps. The once manageable 7,500 steps/day was increased to a staggering 10,000 steps/day. I have never walked 10,000 steps for 15 consecutive days post-knee injury. With the convention and reunion activities still on the horizon, I needed to find an hour and a half each day to accomplish the task. No excuses. Distractions and busyness be damned.

Of course, this is a success story. I completed the challenge just in the nick of time. I would still have blogged about it even if I failed though. I had doubts, but my "might as well" mentality carried me through the tough times. It felt like a podium finish (haha!). I was really proud. As I always say, "I am not the fittest, but I can suffer."

Now I feel like anything is possible. Maybe I can go back to hiking. Maybe I can join races again. Maybe I can fulfill my Hardrock 100 or EBC dreams after all. I know I sound delusional, but if I learned anything from this challenge, it is that I have enough resolve and will power to finish anything that is worth pursuing.