I Need to Walk

In long term care we must have "care plans" for all of our residents. These are the goals that are set by staff, the resident and family or significant others. They are usually related to health or care concerns but sometimes they list preferences for the resident. A recent trend is to have "I" care plans that state the goals/wishes in the first person such as "I want to keep my blood sugar within normal range." or "I want to lose weight." In cases where someone is restless, the "I" care plan may say "I want/need to walk". This is a reminder to staff that they should ensure that a resident has a place to walk that is free of obstructions and that if they need assistance in walking, that someone is there to help. If the resident cannot tell us what is important to them, we often talk to family and friends to find out what the resident enjoyed doing in the past. The point of the first paragraph is to introduce my love of walking. I just read an exercise blog today that said "do what you love" and your exercise routine will be more successful. I love to walk. I need to walk. More importantly I need to do it outside where I can see, smell and feel the outdoors!! I have been a sporadic walker for over 35 years. I started walking for stress control, not for weight management as many people do. It was also my alone, thinking time when my life was much busier than it is now. In the last 10-15 years, I have gotten in the habit of listening to books while I walk. This combines my love of reading with my love of walking. Listening to books or music can impede my hearing of nature sounds but I will occasionally turn off the book to hear geese honking or most recently to hear an elk bugle. My love of walking has returned with a vengeance after I recovered from my double knee replacement surgery in April. I have been wearing a fitness band for 10 months and am currently walking 12000 steps or about 4.5 miles a day. I love it!! I am ready to increase my walking to 14000 steps a day except for one problem....North Dakota weather. Several days this week I have had to wear my down filled coat and a scarf across my face because of the wind. When there is ice or snow, I may not be able to walk outside because of the unsure footing. Winter is coming, no doubt about it. So I am longing to be in a warmer climate or in a less rural place where I could at least walk at a mall or fitness center. The other morning I woke up to the wind howling and thought some very negative thoughts: •I won't be able to walk outside today •It's going to be so cold •I hate North Dakota wind and cold weather •I could walk on the elliptical but I would rather not •and most ridiculous of all....This has got to be Arden's fault! I had read that when you walk, you should walk with a smile because it lifts your spirits. Most days I grin for the whole hour that I walk. I love that I am stronger. I love that my knees don't hurt. I love the sights and smells of rural North Dakota....in all seasons. So I decided to go for my walk despite my negative thoughts and the wind and I discovered that my negative thoughts were SO wrong. How often does that happen---that my negative fears and worries are SO wrong. It wasn't nearly as cold as it sounded and it was a great walk!! What do you love to do? Are your negative thoughts leading you into a downward spiral and how often are they proven wrong?