this little thing called ambition

...sometimes you hit your goal dead on and sometimes you fall just a bit short...and then, you try again

10,000 steps is a lot of steps!

A few months ago when I was trying to get bikini ready for vacation while still recovering from my foot injury, I was averaging 10,000 steps per day as my workout routine. About 2500 of those were completed at work and the remaining while interval walking in front of my TV. So, when I made this weekly goal, I thought..."Heck, that will be easy!"

It wasn't.

Maybe I should have started with 5000 steps per day and worked up from there? There's a slight possibility I was a little too ambitious on that one.

The important thing about ambition is that you set your sights on achieving something and you create forward progress. Even if I fell short of the benchmark I set...even if I factor in feeling run down during the last few days of my cold...even if I was dizzy on Friday from a "sailing hangover" -- what I call the messed up equilibrium that lingers after a night on the open seas -- the effort was still there. And while it wasn't 10,000 steps, I did manage to complete an average of 7500 to 8000 steps per day. Keep in mind a person who sits most of the day at work (like me!) averages only 1000-3000 steps per day...so 7500 is a vast improvement! I think I'll hover here for a while before moving on.

In related news...my #2 goal from last week was a success in my book! I made it through a week at work as the "stand-in" of sorts for my boss and coworker and didn't freak out, scream at anyone, cry under my desk, or throw my computer out the window. I don't know about you, but I call that a WIN! In this case ambition and self-awareness were my very best of friends and I have more confidence in my abilities to handle stress at the office.

And last but not least, my plan to get up at 7:15 each morning was a complete and utter failure. For some reason jumping from 7:30am to 7:15am is too small of a change to ask of my sleep-deprived brain. So this week I'm going to try jumping all the way to 7:00am. Too ambitious? Maybe. But sometimes, you have to set the bar high and see what happens next.

Here are this week's goals:
1. Wake up by 7:00am
2. Turn the TV off by 10:00pm every night.
3. Continue to walk 7,500+ steps per day

How did you do with your goals from last week? Were there any that felt a little too ambitious? If so, think about what you can do to align your weekly goals with your capacity for time/effort/energy.

If you are new to the weekly goals post, you can read more about them here or here. If you would like to join in on the fun, I hope you will consider pledging a goal or two in the comments section or by adding a thumbnail link to a blog post of your own.

Get your ambition on!

p.s. The sink is still dish-free. The smoothies are tasting better every day. I'm smiling more and making time daily for mental breaks. And two large piles of useless-to-me stuff will be on their way to donation or consignment later this week.


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