If you were striving to walk 10,000 steps, what happened to your motivation when it was reported that the 10,000 step goal was arbitrary, that women who walk 4,000 steps were 40% less likely to die, and that longevity benefits maxed our around 7,500?

Did you reduce your goals?

If so, you demonstrated one of the problems with goals! We can become fixated on a number and lose track of the original intent.

You may have lost track of why you set that particular goal or maybe you never really knew. The study that caused many to cut back, including lots of my friends, only mentioned longevity. It said nothing about quality of life, happiness, relationships, independence, or any number of other measures. Why did you decide to strive for 10,000? Was longevity your motivation? Did you ever really know what you were trying to achieve and whether 10,000 steps would do the trick? Or did you latch on to it as quickly as you dropped it once someone gave you a reason?

I don’t know about you, but my goal isn’t to live as long as possible. My goal is to live as well as possible. I walk at least 10,000 steps each day, not because it will help me live longer, but because I don’t want an inability to walk to become a factor that limits my options each day. I climb at least 20 flights a day because I want to be able to continue to climb stairs and hike up to beautiful views. I am active for well over 60 minutes each day, playing pickleball if I’m not hiking, because I want to continue to be able to be active well over 60 minutes each day. I ride my unicycle because I figure as long as I can keep riding it, I’m not likely to suffer balance issues, which lead to falls, which lead to broken bones, which lead to immobility, which lead to constraints. It all boils down to “If you want to be able to keep moving, you’ve got to keep moving.” Now, obviously, I could get sick tomorrow or hit by a bus, shattering my intentions of staying active, but as long as I have the choice, I am going to keep on trucking.

How far do you want to be able to walk? How many flights do you want to be able to climb? Don’t wait until you’ve lost that ability to start moving. Find things you love to do, put that tracker back on to keep yourself honest, and just keep on moving.

10,000 steps may have been nothing more than a brilliant marketing ploy for companies selling activity trackers, but so what? Did it get people off the couch? Absolutely. Sounds like a win-win deal to me. I’m sorry someone deflated that goal.