Measuring Success

How we decide to measure success is a huge factor in determining if we feel good about ourselves. I had surgery on Sept 30, 2009. Once I was semi recovered, I started exercising again. My goal was to do something every other day, which I hadn’t been doing before. Not an hour every other day, just something. I wanted to establish the habit of getting up and exercising regularly. I read it can take 60 days for a habit to be ingrained. My ultimate goal is to do 30 minutes of aerobic exercise three days a week and yoga class on the weekends. I started out slow and it has been slow going ever since. Unfortunately, I have been unable to build up much speed or endurance on the treadmill. I keep getting leg cramps and am either forced to slow down or stop and stretch. It those don’t work, I spend my workout time with a massage ball working the Charlie horses out of my calves and thighs.
Last fall, just before surgery, the pharmacy informed me my thyroid medication had been discontinued. I was required to try a new medication. Last week I had a follow up blood test for the new medication. The nurse called saying my TSH level should be 4 or below and mine was above 32. The exhaustion and muscle cramps I was blaming on menopause has been caused by my thyroid levels being way off.
Even before I had that eye opening bit of news, I had been feeling successful about my exercise regiment. Not because I was doing what I’d hope, but because I was tracking and celebrating my successes. I am amazed at how often we track to feel like a failure. Since I started tracking, I was writing on my calendar how many minutes and the maximum speed I achieved on the treadmill. At the end of the month, I chose to measure success based ONLY on the number of days I did something. In October, 10 out of 31 days or 32% of the days I exercised; in November 19 of 31 days or 63%; and in December 17 of 31 days or 55% of the days I exercised. I pitched my 2009 calendar and carried over only the days I worked out. When I look back, I see success and that keeps me continuing forward.
This month I have been on the treadmill six times. Only once did I make it the 30 minutes. One day I only made it 7 minutes. If I focus on that, I would feel like a failure. Instead, I’m proud of myself for getting up 12 out of 17 days so far in January. No one wants to continue to feel like a failure. If I had been looking at my 7 minute days, I would have quit. Because I only counted the number of days I tried, I felt successful. Feeling successful makes us feel good and we continue things that make us feel good. To build your self esteem, build on your successes and that will bring you greater joy.

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