A Friendly Nudge - Celebrating Small Wins
...because we all could use a little encouragement!
Exercising is relatively easy; building an exercise routine that you stick with is the challenging part. That’s why I’m such an advocate of breaking exercise down into doable chunks or exercise snacks. Charles Duhigg explores habit formation in his best seller The Power of Habit: Why We Do What We Do in Life and Business. Duhigg stresses the importance of small wins. These victories give us tangible evidence that we can change. And exercise snacks are the perfect vehicle for small wins.
Doing a single set of 10 body weight squats or chair-sit-to-stands isn’t going to magically transform your body overnight. But as James Clear (another guy who knows something about habit formation) says, it’s casting a vote for exercise. The more of those votes that we string together, the more we subconsciously start to see ourselves as someone that exercises.
When I first started my exercise habit, I put a kettlebell next to a spot that I walked past frequently during the day. Every time I walked past it, I’d knock out 10 kettlebell swings. I started out with a light weight and over time I increased the weight. Some days I’d change it up and do a 30 second wall sit or some pushups or body weight squats but multiple times a day I was doing something moderately challenging.
I experienced what Clear talks about in Atomic Habits as I began to see myself as someone who exercises. Maybe more importantly, I also started seeing myself as someone who can do challenging things when I set my mind to it.
All too often we let what we can’t do define us and that doesn’t serve us well because it gives us a distorted view of what’s possible. That’s why exercise is so critical. It won’t change us overnight but over time it can profoundly change how we feel and it can help us reexamine what we’re capable of.
Exercise snacks remove some of the obstacles to exercising by making it feel more doable. If you’re a morning coffee or tea person, try doing some sink squats while your coffee or tea is brewing and then throw in some pushups or planks against the kitchen counter and finish with 30 seconds of either the warrior lunge or the single leg balance and reach. It’ll only take a few minutes but it will start your day off with some powerful momentum and a small, but powerful, win to celebrate!
Duhigg describes exercise as a keystone habit because once we start feeling stronger and more energetic we’re more inclined to explore other ways to build on our success. Paying more attention to sleep quality was one of those targets for me, but the other one was food.
I make a point of always cooking enough food so that we’ll have leftovers for a few days and this week’s meal is perfect for that. It’s also warm and hearty for the cold weather that a lot of us are experiencing.
So let’s make something tasty!
Chicken, Greens and Potato Soup
This soup will look a little familiar because I make variations of it quite a bit and it also reflects my approach to cooking. I frequently add peanut or almond butter to soup to add richness and depth of flavor. Using coconut milk in addition to chicken stock also boosts the flavor. The purple potatoes caught my eye at the store so I used those instead of sweet potatoes.
Ingredients:
3-4 lbs boneless skinless chicken thighs, cut into bite size pieces
4-5 stalks celery, chopped
4-6 carrots, chopped
1 onion sliced
1 thumb sized piece of ginger, peeled and chopped
2-3 bunches collards or other hearty greens, chopped
2” piece of dried salami, chopped
2 handfuls of potatoes, cut - purple, sweet or red potatoes will work
1 qt chicken stock
1 can full fat coconut milk
¼-½ cup almond or peanut butter
Paprika to taste, I used at least a tbsp
2 fat pinches of cracked pepper (I used smoked cracked pepper)
1 fat pinch of salt
1-2 tbsp olive or avocado oil
Heat a tbsp of avocado or olive oil in a large pot on medium high heat and then add the chicken thighs, a fat pinch of salt, then add the onions, potatoes, carrots, celery, sausage and ginger, paprika, pepper and chicken stock, stir well and bring to a boil.
Cover the pot and adjust the heat to keep it to a boil for about 10 minutes.
Add the collards and stir to combine.
Add the coconut milk and almond butter and stir to combine.
Simmer for another 7-10 minutes and taste for seasoning.
Enjoy!
Now let’s give you some exercise options for the week!
This week’s exercises give you options. You can do them as a circuit or just do one or two as an exercise snack. I made a point of including some that would be great “while coffee is brewing” options. And if something looks too difficult, skip it for now and it may feel more doable down the road.