Walk realization

Way back when, in my post on Nordic walking, I noted this:

In the course of a month of Nordic walking, I found I had gradually increased the walk duration to just over an hour—about 8000 steps, 4.1 miles—simply because I enjoyed it so much. (My plan originally was to walk for 30 minutes, but now I really enjoy the longer walk.)

In “A Scandal in Bohemia,” Sherlock Holmes says to Dr. Watson, “You see, but you do not observe.” Like Dr. Watson, I also saw but did not observe. That is, I failed to draw the obvious conclusion from what I saw (and experienced). I have now added to that post:

I recently realized that I had happened upon something significant in that paragraph above, but it didn’t sink in to the point that I explicitly recognized it. It is this: Focus on consistency (walking every day), and let speed and duration take care of themselves — you don’t need to think about them because they will improve on their own, so long as you are consistent in walking every day.

To achieve consistency, I found the idea of “priority” useful. In the evening, when I think about what’s on my plate for the next day, I say to myself, “Well, my main priority is to take a walk.” And each morning when I awaken, I think “Today’s priority is to take a walk.”

I don’t worry about how fast or how long I walk, but focus solely on making sure that I do take a walk. If I walk every day, then as my strength and my fitness improve, I will gradually find myself walking longer and faster because I feel like it, not because it’s a goal. The only goal is to go for a walk each day. That is the priority.