I started wearing my Fitbit again this week. It turns out my awareness needs some help regarding the amount of time I spend moving each day. In the spirit of mindfulness that came from the meditation classes I’ve taken recently and also from my reading about intermittent fasting, I decided a few months ago I didn’t need to keep track of so many numbers and tie myself to preset goals; I’d just be mindful of what my body needed. 

My first clue that it might not work is that I still haven’t had the discipline to stop eating when I am sated and before I am full, so while I have seen great non-scale victories with intermittent fasting, I have not had much for weight-loss results.

As for my pitiful lack of movement during any given day, my top strengths are all in the realm of thinking rather than action; so it is deeply in my nature to remain inert. Over the last couple of years, I have been claiming my nature by learning meditation, reading good books, journaling regularly, joining a writing group, taking classes — sitting, sitting, sitting.

I admit, then, that for my health I must rely on external data from my Fitbit (like step count and minimum steps per hour) to achieve what my internal motivation drives me toward, being my best self emotionally, spiritually, and physically. 

“Welcome back, Fitbit,” she says begrudgingly.

What do you not want to do that you know would make you feel better emotionally, spiritually, or physically?