Productivity Culture Won't Love This Truth.....
A Journey of 4,400 Miles
That’s how far I’ve walked over the past seven years. Not because I was training for anything. Not because I was chasing a performance goal. But because I committed to walking at least four days a week (usually 5-7 days), about three miles each day - and I chose something I could actually sustain.
Here’s the part that might surprise you: I hate running.
Consistency > Intensity
In my younger years I tried to become a runner more times than I can count. Downloaded the plans. Bought the shoes. Told myself this time would be different.
But the physical and mental energy it takes for me to run feels so high that eventually it becomes miserable. And when something feels miserable long enough, I quit.
Walking is different.
I don’t track my steps or my pace. I don’t try to improve by one percent every week. Some days I walk fast, some days I stroll, some days I call my sister, some days I just let my mind wander, most days I enjoy my music and the view.
And this is coming from a former CPA who organizes her life in Excel. I am absolutely a data person - but only to the point that it’s helpful, not to the point that it becomes overwhelming.
The reason I’ve walked over 4,400 miles isn’t because I optimized it. It’s because I enjoyed it enough to keep going.
I enjoy being outside. I enjoy the sunshine. I even chose to move to Florida 4½ years ago because walking in warmth feels better to me than walking in the cold. When something aligns with who you are, consistency compounds.
Look - I’m not dismissing the science. We absolutely build resilience, muscle, and mental strength by pushing beyond our comfort zones. Growth requires discomfort.
But not everything needs to be an optimized push.
I love yoga and strength training - and I push through the discomfort. But I purposely do it in group classes because connection is a core value and driver for me. The connection keeps me coming back, in addition to the good feelings I get from the practice.
And this isn’t just my personal preference. At the highest levels of elite performance, we see the same principle. Athletes like Alysa Liu have spoken openly about stepping back after burnout so they could rediscover joy in their sport. She recalibrated her relationship to skating, returned on her terms, and went on to win Olympic gold.
Even world-class performers have to align discipline with purpose and enjoyment in order to sustain excellence.
The same thing shows up in corporate life. I’ve watched women try to optimize their careers by saying yes to every stretch project, enrolling in every certification, and attending every networking event only to feel exhausted and resentful.
The ones who build real, lasting momentum choose differently. They commit to one meaningful development goal at a time, schedule one intentional coffee conversation a week, or consistently block thinking space instead of filling every hour with execution.
It may look slower in the short term, but over time it builds depth, trust, and real success.
And in this era of track-and-optimize-everything, balance gets overlooked. We can’t always choose short-term pleasure over long-term gain, but we also don’t want to eliminate joy entirely.
It has to be both.
Growth and joy. Discipline and delight. Ambition and rest.
Living in a community filled with vibrant people in their 70s and 80s, I see this every day. The ones who are thriving didn’t get there by optimizing every variable. They built lives around things they loved and could keep doing. Golf, tennis, art, community service, and preserving nature - to name a few.
They chose sustainability over intensity. And over time, that consistency compounded.
(Also, an entirely underrated consistent habit that will help your future - saving small amounts and living within your means. Financial freedom reduces SO MUCH stress!)
4,400 miles didn’t happen because I pushed harder.
It happened because I kept taking one step at a time that didn’t make me want to quit. (This is the same way I've stayed sober for 14.5 years - one day at a time.)
The point of life isn’t to optimize everything you do. It’s to live. It's to build goals that stretch you and habits that sustain you, and to pursue growth without burning yourself out in the process.
We are not human doings. We are human beings. And your job is to BE yourself, in all of your glory and all of your mess, and each step in-between.
If you’re tired of feeling like success requires constant optimization, this is exactly the work I help women do. Not by lowering standards, but by aligning effort with values and building momentum that actually lasts. Schedule a free call to strategize how to move forward in a way that works for YOU. CLICK HERE.
Because the goal isn’t to optimize your life.
The goal of life is to live it. And LOVE it.
Cheers to BEING,
Sharon
Enjoy Your Journey to Success
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