A few years ago I read a study that showed that women who walked two miles a day were less likely to gain weight after 40. I didn’t do anything with that piece of information at the time, but I filed it in the recesses of my mind for “later.” To be honest, there are so many things I have saved (read: put off) for later and that “later” usually never comes. Still, I have good intentions to put into practice all the worthwhile habits and goals I read about or dream up.

A couple weeks I decided it was time for “later,” at least where walking is concerned. So, I figured out the distance I have to walk to reach two miles, and I set out. For some people, a goal of two miles is so short it is laughable. For others, it is a good goal to work up to. I’m somewhere in the middle. I can walk two miles and more with no real problems, but my purpose wasn’t to maximize my distance or even speed. My goal is to practice faithfulness.

You see, I’m pretty good at starting new ideas, it’s following through after the initial spark has worn off that is tough for me. I lack faithfulness. And I’m a perfectionist, or an idealist, or both. The voice in my head is always telling me I could – I should – do more. If I walk once around the block I should go twice. If I’m going to write an article, I should really write a book. If I’m going to get a bachelor’s degree, what I really need is a doctorate (true story! Ph.D. is on the “later” list!). My own internal voices are never satisfied. So, I don’t do anything. Because I can’t reach far enough or jump high enough or walk long enough to reach the moving target of my perfectionistic idealism.

To combat these voices from shutting me down at my latest attempt to faithfully cultivate a new healthy habit, I am reminding myself of another tidbit I read years ago. This tidbit is from FlyLady (http://www.flylady.net/). The F-L-Y stands for Forever Loving Yourself. Anyway, she set out to keep her home tidy without her perfectionism getting the best of her (If I’m going to do the dishes, then I should clean the whole house!). Here is the phrase that stuck with me: Housework done imperfectly still blesses the family. Really? My inner voices aren’t convinced.

But here I am, applying this concept to other areas of my life, like walking. Exercise done imperfectly still blesses my body. The goal is not to give myself an excuse to settle for laziness or lower my standards. However, I need the reminder that it is okay to just do some. I don’t have to do all, and I don’t have to do it perfectly for it to be good. My goal is to be faithful in doing a little.

If you see me cruising my block, I’ll wave. You’ll probably never see me run. I don’t have plans to walk more than 2 miles. And I don’t want to run a marathon. Ever. I’m just walking to be faithful. I think faithfulness will have its own rewards.

~Alyse