Keeping Track of Every Step of the Journey

13 Elul            Monday, September 8

For the past four months, I have been keeping track meticulously of everything I eat, how much water I drink and how much activity I get. This became a regular habit, so that every day I found a few minutes here and there to write it all down. I had to be honest, knowing that I could lie to everyone except myself. As time went on and I adjusted to the changes in my lifestyle, the practice of keeping track became second nature. As a result, I have been feeling healthier and stronger.

Surprising, because I don’t consider myself a disciplined person. I have struggled with food, with exercise and the inescapable weight loss and gain for as long as I can remember.

Still wary of my ability to sustain these practices, two weeks ago I decided to get a Fitbit to keep me motivated. At the minimum, the Fitbit acts like a pedometer with a coach, tracking my every step with the goal of achieving 10,000 steps a day. It also tracks the distance I travel and calories burned. For the first week, I checked my progress several times a day. If I was short a few thousand steps, I dragged Brian out for a summer evening walk. I was motivated!

The Fitbit can also keep track of food, weight loss (or gain), and even sleep patterns. This feedback depends entirely on the information I take time to log. I could even record mood swings, which can be tracked along with sleep, eating and activity levels. The monitoring process is potentially invigorating. It can also be overwhelming to keep track of so many incidentals.

I quickly came to the point when I asked myself, if I have the discipline to notice so much about myself, shouldn’t I be tracking other aspects of my behavior as well? Shouldn’t body and soul work together?

The practice of Mussar, Jewish soul-instruction, works best with daily incentives, guidelines and journaling at the end of the day, just like the Fitbit. When working on gratitude, it’s helpful to set a goal, such as saying thank you 3-5 times each day. Or working on humility, letting others speak first one time every day. These may sound like modest goals compared to 10,000 steps. On the other hand, “a journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.” To change our behavior is a journey of a lifetime.

Self-care, through exercise, proper eating and fitness, must lead to being a better person in the world. Otherwise, it can devolve into narcissism. I’d like someone to invent a SoulScroll to keep track of our actions. How many times did I say thank you, I’m sorry, or I love you? How much tsedaka did I give this week? How many people did I greet with a smile? These are the spiritual goals that should grab our attention in the month of Elul. Pick one, keep track and see how far you can get. Inevitably, you will not only change yourself, but you will change the world.