Day One

Today was my first attempt at practicing self motivation. I decided to start small and begin with getting my step count above 15,000. On an average day I can hit 10,000 no problem, however it is not easy to get the extra five thousand. I postulate that by achieving small goals like this one, I can take that encouragement and set goals in the future that may be harder to achieve. I was on a good pace throughout the day and seemed to be in good shape. I took the stairs instead of the elevator and walked to work instead of driving. By 8:00pm I was still short of my step goal. Instead of giving up and disappointing myself, I took my dog for a walk and went on a run before the night ended. I have greatly improved compared to the number o steps that I usually walk. I went above and beyond to meet my goal and felt a sense of accomplishment afterwards.

The lesson learned from today’s practice of self motivation is that setting goals and documenting progress is important. If the steps were never counted for me, I would not have the same drive to get better. It is critical that we document our thoughts and results as a way of reflecting back on our development. I was able to see improvement and that motivated me to continue pushing to reach my goal. Reflection allowed me to visually enhance the meaning of the simple activity of taking steps and find a greater meaning.

I will continue practicing the skill of self motivation through reflection and documentation. This will allow me to improve and continue pushing myself to be better. Meeting a goal requires motivation. These small goals will help me build the groundwork to set goals that are more difficult to achieve such as walking across the stage on graduation day or finding a career.