But there IS an "I" in "Inspire" {Inspiration of the Week}

"What's gonna work? TEAMwork! What's gonna work? TEAMwork!"

My apologies if you are also the parent of young children and now have Wonderpets music stuck in your head. I just couldn't write about what it means to me to be part of a team without hearing that enthusiastic song myself.

This post is actually a little late in coming. I'm at a different stage in my progress now, where exercise is fun and I don't need much more than the sheer joy of it to motivate me to get out there! A month ago or so, it was a different story entirely...

As I struggled to make myself run more than once or twice per week, and do any exercise at all other than running, one of the only things that helped me start succeeding was the walking challenge I started doing through my work. I'm on a team with six of my colleagues, and with our combined steps, we are competing against teams from all over our firm! I personally recruited one member of the team who wasn't particularly interested in participating, and another member of the team has been struggling to contribute while recovering from knee surgery, so I've had a lot of incentive really to do my fair share of the work. There have been many days where I was busy and tired and just didn't feel like finding a way to get extra steps in, but I dragged myself down to the treadmill or danced around my living room while watching TV because I couldn't bear the thought of letting down my teammates.

When someone else is counting on me, I am much more likely to come through than when the only person depending on the outcome is myself. This has been true in many aspects of my life. Since I don't play team sports and generally prefer to exercise alone, it's not often that I can use that sense of duty to further my fitness goals. This challenge has given me an opportunity to do just that!

The contest is long, and wearing the pedometer got old about a day after it started, but I'm proud of how hard our team is working! To my teammates Tyler, Meg, Liz, Sue, Gina, and Brina, thanks for inspiring me to get moving every single day! I don't know if I'd be as active as I am now if it weren't for you. Let's keep kicking butt and try to finish in the top 5! I believe in us!