“Why are you still doing this?” I got that question from my wife on a busy day in November after I said I still needed a few thousand steps to reach 20,000.

This was almost three months after my 20k One Year Step Challenge had ended. For a full year my goal was to get at least 20,000 steps every day without a break. I posted a daily update on Facebook, so it was very public. But, the finish line was in the rear view mirror and fading more so every day.

The reality is that chain of 20k step days actually started about five months before I began the public challenge. And, it has continued. Yesterday was day 669. In other words, my 20k chain now has 669 links.

Along the way there have been a few easier days, and more than a few harder days. The latter include days when I didn’t feel great, days when the weather was a challenge, and days when my schedule was the challenge.

That growing chain is becoming more precious to me. I want to protect it because each one of those 669 links represents more than steps. Those links represent 669 different ways I figured out how to reach my daily goal of 20,000 steps even when I didn’t want to and it felt too hard.

If you started The 30 Day New Year Fitness Challenge on January 1, your chain will today have 20 links. Each of those links represents a goal reached, but more importantly, it represents 20 ways you figured out how to make it happen.

If, like me, you have experienced goal failure in your past, this growing chain means far more than just steps on your Fitbit. Link by link you are building a new story of goal success.

You don’t want to break that, do you?

The day my wife asked why I was still trying to reach 20,000 steps I told her that was still my goal even though I wasn’t posting about it anymore. What I didn’t tell her was how important this chain has become to me and what it represents.

Ava and I have some big plans we are working toward. I don’t know how it’s all going to work out, but I do know that I have a chain with 669 links representing 669 different ways I figured it out.

And, on some days that means even more than the health benefits I get from reaching my step goal.

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!