[underlipton]

I took a 20-minute walk every day for a year. I don't know that it changed my life, but I think it kept me healthier than I otherwise would have been at the height of the pandemic, and it also gave me a point of pride in saying that I had the resolve and discipline to do something every day for a full year, come what may (did?).

It taught me the importance of ritual, and it also taught me how... incredibly imperceptive a lot of people are. (I was living with a family member at the time, who was constantly asking me if I was "getting out of the house" regularly. Yes. Every day. For a month, and then 3 months, and then half-a-year, and then almost a full year, and then more than a year. On that note, it's essential to not let others' expectations cloud your appreciation for what you're doing. Somehow, it had wormed its way into my subconscious rationale that part of the reason that I was taking my walks was to live up to their expectations. When it became clear that they didn't really care - at least not enough to notice - that kind of deflated things a bit.)