Saturday, April 24, 2010

A Drop in the Bucket

My sister and I had a piggy bank that said "Girls' Nite Out", and we'd throw our change in it.  Before long we'd have enough to head out to Chili's or a movie and were always surprised at how easy it was to save up considering it was only pennies and nickels and such.

I can't help but look at the way things have changed for me in terms of the ease of moving through daily life. So many conveniences! Walk up windows, remote controls, internet shopping, video games...I used to roll my eyes when my parents would tell me they used to "walk to school 5 miles up hill both ways"! But the fact is we fail little by little at most things not all at once. If we could only take a minute and evaluate how our lives have been depleted of the routing efforts we all took for granted I believe we could make huge gains with very small investments.

Simple things like taking the stairs, parking at the end of the row instead of the nearest spot, raking the leaves instead of leaf blowers, going into the bank instead of driving up...these are just a few ideas.

And then consider a more direct fitness application. How about trading in your desk chair for a large exercise ball to sit on? You'll automatically be engaging your core, calves and back and burn calories free of charge. During your lunch break take 5 minutes to do some Ashtanga sun salutions in the privacy of your office or corporate fitness center. For that matter let your co-workers SEE you, and maybe you'll find a workout buddy unexpectedly! You could also bring in some execise bands and during your breaks do some easy stretching and resistance moves.

The possibilities are endless, but the concept is the same: do these small things each day. Deposit them in your fitness "piggy bank", and I guarantee you will be pleased to see how quickly your investment adds up. 
And the next time you're having a "girls' or guys' night out" watch as heads turn and eyebrows go up. You can't beat that kind of return on your investment!

No comments:

Post a Comment