Hitting the Goal!
I recently accomplished a big goal that I had been striving toward. My consecutive daily exercise streak hit 3652 days; that is exactly 10 years!
Rules
When I started this streak, I set the rules for what constitutes a workout. It’s pretty simple. It has to be at least 20 minutes of exercise. It also has to be carved out time, so I can’t count walking the dog or walking through an airport, etc. I deliberately set the minimum time low to make this achievable every single day – through holidays, vacations, days when I’m not feeling well, etc. My average daily workout is around 45-60 minutes long.
How It Started
I started this exercise streak on March 10, 2016. At that time, my goal was to work out for 100 days without missing a day. Somewhere around 50 days into it, the effort became noticeably easier as it began to develop into a daily habit as automatic as brushing my teeth. Once that began to happen, I started to wonder if I could maintain this streak for 365 days – a full year.
Ironically as I added additional years to the streak it felt less and less like an impressive accomplishment. I think that is largely because the commitment became more and more effortless, as it continued to become more ingrained into a routine part of my daily responsibilities. For the most part, as each year passes, my goal has been to add another year to the streak. The two exceptions to that were the 5- and 10-year milestones. In both cases, I started thinking about those goals about a year and half before reaching them.
Things Shifted at 10 Years
Hitting the 10-year mark caused a shift in the way I viewed that achievement. Unlike many of the more recent yearly milestones, this one did feel like a fairly impressive achievement. I think it was the acknowledgment that not missing a single day for an entire decade takes more than dedication, consistency and discipline. It also takes some luck. There are so many things beyond my control that could have stopped me. The fact that I did not need any kind of minor or major surgery immediately comes to mind.
The Future
At this point, I really don’t have any goals for future milestones. I simply plan to continue the streak as long as I am able to do so. If I am fortunate enough to approach other major milestones I imagine they will become goals, but for now I just take it one day at a time.
While this may not be for everyone, I think for many folks this can be an excellent way to add some discipline to an area of your life where you would like more. Ironically, the factors needed to maintain good physical health and good financial health are uncomplicated and quite easy to understand. The obstacle for just about everyone is behavioral, not a lack of knowledge about what needs to be done.
Using a streak to help maintain the discipline needed to reach financial goals could be an effective solution for many folks. If this is something you would like to explore, or if we can help you with any of your investment needs, please reach out to us at Bernstein Financial Advisory.
