Ever Been Told to ‘Take A Hike’?

On January 1, my wife Kris and I decided to take simple steps (literally) each day towards a wellness goal we share. That is, we’re walking a minimum of one mile every day for this entire year.

365 miles minimum. One year.

That’s just about the distance between Boston and Baltimore for you US east coasters, or from San Francisco to Los Angeles in California (if you stay inland and walk down Interstate 5 – which is DEFINITELY not advised!).

Now, if you were to tell me to start walking in Boston and not stop until I hit the suburbs of Baltimore, I’d probably tell you to ‘go take a hike!’

But instead, if you asked me to walk just one mile each day – which takes me just under 20 minutes – for one year to accomplish the same extraordinary goal, well them I’m all in.

In fact, many days Kris and I find time to walk quite a bit more once we get started. And we’re tracking our results. Being the two CPA nerds that we are, we built a basic Microsoft Excel spreadsheet to track our progress. Today is Memorial Day in the US – May 26 this year. That’s day 146 according to my spreadsheet. And so far we’ve walked 158 miles (including today’s two miles right after breakfast). So I guess I’m almost halfway to Baltimore or LA. And I know that as the summer weather gets even better, our numbers will improve as well.

Of course walking to get your heart rate up a little bit is good for you. But I’ve found another benefit that I really didn’t see coming.

Like many of you, I work very long hours. Often as many as 70 hours a week.

That’s just the nature of being self-employed and pursuing work that I love. I also travel a lot for both business and personal reasons. As a result I’ve found that time to exercise is often difficult to carve into an already packed day. And taking a few minutes each day to clear my mind and let creativity take over almost never seems to occur as I’m constantly staring at the next deadline.

Well, I’ve found that literally walking away from my desk for 20 minutes solves both problems. Result: a little exercise and a major clearing of the mind clutter that occurs without conscious effort as the rhythm of each step takes place. Every time, I come back to my work or my next appointment refreshed, more alert, and more open to the possibilities that were there in front of me all the time.

To keep up with this goal, I’ve walked through snowstorms, down long hotel hallways, around the internal decks of a cruise ship, in shopping malls, across hotel parking lots, and far too often in crowded airport terminals. (The United terminal at Dulles in Washington DC is just about a mile from end to end – good planning on the architect’s part!). If you’re lucky, all you’ll have to do is walk around your neighborhood or office building.

Now, as with any new physical undertaking – even the modest one mile daily walk – make double sure that your body is ready. If you’ve been away from physical activity of any kind, if you have a history of health challenges, even if you just live at high altitude like I do, make sure your doctor agrees that you are ready for this change in your daily routine. And for those who simply can’t walk a mile each day, think about something you can do in its place. Something extra you’re not already doing that can provide the same benefits of Better! physical and mental health in even the tiniest of ways.

Then wipe away the easy excuses, push away from your desk or TV, and find a place to stroll for 20 minutes.

To me, our mutual goal in business and life is Better! Better tomorrow than today; better next week than this week; better next year than this year.

Simply – Better! Every day.

Let’s take a few Simple Steps towards Better! health together. I’ll even join you each day. Let’s keep track together.

Two Challenges for You

• We all have a list of things we know we should do, but never seem to get to. Exercise is on that list for many, many people. If you are sitting and reading this right now – and you KNOW you should get some exercise today, what’s the real reason why you don’t? Think about it and own up to it. Busy? Tired? Lazy? The kids? The weather? Don’t have the right thing to wear? It’s crowded at the gym? Whatever it is, be honest with yourself and acknowledge it. Now push all excuses to the side because they simply don’t matter. If you’re physically able, get up right now and go for a 20-minute walk. Take the kids with you – they could probably use the exercise as well. I’ll wait for you right here.

• Give yourself the gift of five minutes of absolute peace and quiet. Allow your mind to drift towards just one choice you could make today that will point you toward better health. Think about what you consume, how often you make your body work, what causes you recurring negative stress. And then just make one decision that will help you ‘feel’ Better! Then take action on that one decision today. Just one new action. Repeat this exercise tomorrow and every tomorrow until it becomes your favorite five minutes of your day – five minutes just for you. What a great gift to yourself.

Let Me Know What You Think

My purpose is to give you ideas you can use on your terms to advance your performance towards your goals. Please let me know what you think. Just click here to leave your own Better! ideas. And if someone you know might benefit from our ideas for Better! results, please send them the link to my website www.JohnHallSpeaker.com and have them sign-up for free to receive the blogs, videos, white papers, and other special offers we’re building right now. Or just send me their email address, and I’ll reach out for you. Best wishes for Better! results on your terms –

John J. Hall, CPA