It was a terrible night. Earlier that day I had a meeting with my boss. He told me they were changing my job at the radio station. I was being taken off the air. There were lots of good things about this decision, but the only thing I could focus on was the negative. All I’d ever wanted to be since high school was a radio announcer. And, it felt like that was being taken from me. I didn’t respond well to the news.

My emotions were swirling as I crawled into bed that night. I couldn’t shut it down. In fact, it only ramped up. I got no sleep.

If you are doing The 30 Day New Year Fitness Challenge, hopefully you’re excited about it. New beginnings are always exhilarating.

Most of us rely on these “new beginning” emotions to carry us for a long time. Sadly, they never do. Typically the emotions you feel today are gone in less than two weeks. And, if that’s the only motivation you have, your goal dies a quiet little death.

You’ll know you’re in trouble when it stops feeling fun and you start thinking to yourself, “It’s not working!” Fitness is never easy and the hoped for benefits take a while to appear.

But, that doesn’t mean it’s not working. Sometimes it’s helpful to have a bigger picture. If your biggest focus right now is the number on your scale, you may not be aware of other transformations taking place.

One of those changes involves your sleep. Research indicates if you engage in 30 minutes of moderate level physical activity you’ll sleep better. And, it’s not a benefit you have to wait for. A 30 minute walk today can yield improved sleep tonight.

There wasn’t much fitness in my life when I experienced that sleepless night. Of course, there’s no way to know if exercise would have changed anything. But, ever since that night I’ve been aware of just how tenuous my sleep is. I’ve wondered what a really big stressor would do. Last fall I got my answer.

My wife, Ava, discovered a lump. A few weeks later she was given the diagnosis. Breast cancer. Those early days were filled with BIG questions, few answers, and lots of wild speculation.

And, to my surprise I slept well. I didn’t think I would. My emotions were swirling even more with this situation than they were that night many years ago. Based on that past history I would have bet against me sleeping well.

The biggest difference between that sleepless night and what happened last fall is fitness. It’s a daily part of my life now. And, clearly, one of the benefits is I sleep better.

Enjoy the excitement of your new fitness journey. But, if you’re like the rest of us, those emotions will begin to fade and what you’re doing today may not be as much fun after that happens. It might even feel like “It’s not working.”

But, it is.

Yes, fitness transformation takes a while, but there are lots of other changes you can start enjoying today!

It’s never too late to start a brand new fitness journey. If you want to do the 30 Day New Year Fitness Challenge you can begin today!

If this is the first you’re hearing about the Challenge, it’s really quite simple. You set a modest daily step goal and make a commitment to reach that goal every day for 30 days. Every day you hit your goal is a win to be celebrated!

Download this free 30 Day New Year Fitness Challenge Guide to get started. It will help you set the right goal for you. The guide also includes a contract that you can make with yourself. That may sound cheesy, but it’s the commitments we make to ourselves that sometimes are the easiest to break.

Every day you reach your goal is a WIN and this free guide includes a 30 Day Win Tracker to help you celebrate your fitness victories!