Always Logging It

 I have worn some type of fitness tracker for years: FitBit, Apple Watch, and now a Garmin Venu.  I love them, I love knowing how far the dogs and I have walked, how many steps I've gotten in, the elevation change on a hike, and how many calories I've burned.  I also went through a MyFitness Pal tracking stage where I logged my food.  I enjoy a planner and making To-Do lists and crossing them off.  You name it, I've probably logged it!

My goodness logging everything is exhausting!!

 My Type A personality thrives on logging things, making lists, and checking things off.  I like to know where I'm at with getting things done, movement, mileage, food, exercise, the whole kit and kaboodle.  But every once and a while, I do something completely drastic and STOP LOGGING EVERYTHING!

That's right, I go cold turkey and stop it all.  I take off the watch and power it down, I delete MyFitnessPal, and I use only one planner/notebook for making lists (this one is the hardest due to my schedule, school stuff, and my husband's ever-changing work schedule) and I stop using an exercise plan.

Do you know what that does?  To be honest, it gives me a crazy amount of anxiety for the first day or so; I know, not the reaction you were expecting.  But it's the truth, I am routine-oriented and thrive in my structure, and stopping some or all of the above things is very intense.  But, it does get better!  

Breaking the lines of dependency with my logging apps/devices allows me to have a bit more freedom: I exercise how I want and it depends on what feels good, I allow food to be something that's good versus something that always needs to be tracked and monitored, and I live more in the moment then what is next on the list for me to get accomplished.

Taking a break from logging all of our data is good once and a while, it allows us to reset and take a breath.  If logging all of your data starts to stress you out instead of making you feel good, it is time to put it on the shelf for a minute and breathe.  It isn't easy (hello anxiety moments), but I know it's better for me in the long run if I take a step back, and readjust.

What do you do to unplug and reset?

"F" is Not Failure

My favorite Peloton instructor, Robin Arzon, posted on her Instagram account about failing at a task she had been visualizing and training for and how she was striving to find the faith within the failure (see her IG post here).  

That really struck me because for as long as I can remember, an "F" always equated to failure: grades, losing a game, not measuring up, etc.  And sometimes, it really is that simple: the other team outscored you and you lost; you missed more questions on a test than you answered correctly.  These are very concrete examples of how sometimes, failing is failing.

But what struck me, is how sometimes failing is NOT failing.  You try something new and it doesn't go your way, did you fail?  Maybe in the simplistic meaning of the word, but didn't you also learn something?  Thomas Edison really hit the nail on the head when he said he didn't fail, he found thousands of ways to not make a lightbulb.  That is really powerful when you stop and think about it!

Sometimes we base our self-worth on how quickly we can master a new skill or achieve a goal, and if we don't measure up in the time allotted, we failed.  Instead of giving ourselves an "F" as in failure, maybe we give ourselves an "F' as in fortitude; we just continue to practice and learn.  

Give yourself the opportunity to redefine your "F" into Faith in yourself, Fortitude in your drive, and Fearlessness in pursuit of your dreams/hobbies.

How do you define your "F"?