“We must all either wear out or rust out, every one of us.  My choice is to wear out.”

-Theodore Roosevelt

You have to start somewhere. Some feel it wouldn’t be beneficial or worth their time to just go for a  10-minute walk but that’s far better than doing nothing at all. Ask yourself, which has the bigger benefit, sitting on the couch, behind your desk, or that 10-minute walk. The couch is the easy choice but not the most beneficial. If you walked 10 minutes a day, three days a week, you’ve got 30 minutes of walking in for the week and according to many health experts, walking is one of the best exercises for weight loss and improving one’s health. My point is, do what you can because in the end, all the small efforts add up.

Richard Arvin Overton, who passed away at the age of 112 years old and was the longest living WWII vet at the point of his passing, when asked what was one of the secrets to his longevity, stated that getting up every morning and moving your body was key. He compared the blood in his body to motor oil in a car. He believed that your blood, much like the motor oil in your vehicle, lubricates the body. If you sit for too long and don’t keep your blood moving, your joints will start to stiffen and if you stop for too long, especially as you age, it makes it that much more difficult to start again.

It’s hard to get motivated to get moving some days, believe me, I get it. But the thing that gets me up and out is remembering the sense of accomplishment I have after I’ve taken a walk or a bike ride. Instead of focusing on how much it sucks to start, think about how great it will feel to finish. Baby steps and small goals starting out, will pave the way to greater accomplishments in the future but for anything to happen, you have to get moving and take the first steps.