I did 20,000 for two years. Steps daily. This is what I learned

I started my journey in mid-March 2018. In the two and a half years ending August 31, 2020, I learned a lot. Here are five important lessons.

Before I started, I made a basic decision: I decided that no matter what happened in my life, I would do 20k every day. steps.

What difference does it make? I don't wake up every morning wondering how many steps I'm going to take. I just did it. Even on tough days, like when my wife had breast cancer surgery, I would walk around the hospital parking lot.

There was only one day when I was five steps shy of 20,000. I didn't realize it until a few weeks later and I think it's because I forgot to check my step count on the app before going to bed.

At first, my feelings changed every day. Sometimes I felt motivated to achieve a goal. Other days I had to force myself.

I remember one day in particular, about two months after I started. It was a cold and rainy afternoon, and I still had many steps to walk. I looked out the window and thought: Why did I commit to doing this?

But because I accepted the challenge, I did the 20k. steps.

My feelings changed every day, but what I felt at the end of the day after achieving my goal was always the same: a sense of accomplishment and self-satisfaction.

This feeling became a motivation some days because I knew how good I would feel after completing the task.

Competing with yourself is a great motivator. I may not be able to compete with you or others, but I can compete with myself by setting personal challenges for myself.

Four years ago, my wife and I decided to radically change our lives and move nearly a thousand kilometers away from our current place of residence. I had a lot of work to do on our house before we sold it, and I gave myself an unreasonable deadline to get it all done.

I walked 20 thousand. Steps daily for two and a half years. I did it, even though it was difficult.

Consistency showed me I could do it. It's a very satisfying feeling to know what you're capable of.

The day after we moved into our new home, my wife was in a car accident that left her in a wheelchair for two months.

In the first weeks of recovery, she needed my help with everything. It was really hard, I managed it because I had a history of doing hard things.

In addition to the physical benefits of walking 20,000 steps a day and the huge improvement in my physical fitness, I felt emotionally and mentally stronger.

I realized that I could do something difficult for a while. Before this two and a half year streak started, I knew I could do 20km. Steps daily. I even knew I could do it for a few days.

However, I didn't know if I had enough mental strength to do 20,000 steps every day for years. This challenge turned my confidence upside down. I now know that I am capable of doing much more than I thought.

With all these benefits and ideas, you may be wondering why I stopped at two and a half years.

It was not due to injury or illness. I just decided it was becoming a big part of my life and started taking control of it.

I didn't want this activity to control me, but rather to be something I controlled and used in my pursuit of health and wellness.

The decision to stop was not easy. But I had to consider it to my advantage.

The truth is, you don't have to do 20k every day. steps. You don't even need 10k. Steps, especially if you're just starting your walking adventure.

Start by committing to walking for 10 minutes every day and continue until it becomes a consistent habit. From here you can build and enjoy all the benefits that walking has to offer.

David Ball hosts Walking Is Fitness, a daily ten-minute podcast that helps people get started on their fitness journey.

The text was published in the American edition of Newsweek magazine. Title, introduction and abbreviations from the Newsweek Polska editorial office.