Vibrant Habit #22

Have you ever pulled into a parking lot and battled against all of the other drivers in a not-so-covert effort to procure the closest and best parking spot in the lot? All of you competitive ladies… I hear you! It begins by circumventing the lot and peeking down every aisle to see if there is an open spot… YOU SEE IT! Quick left, honk at the person who is crossing right in front of you (the nerve), pass 12 open spots, and right when you get to the space you see it… a Mini Cooper, ugh. The quest begins again. A person is walking toward a car that is in that perfect spot just feet away from the store. You pull up and put on your blinker and wait for the woman to pack in her 84 bags of groceries, return her cart 15 spots down, and then text every friend she’s made for the past 43 years. Finally, she pulls out and you get the spot! And it only took you 18 minutes and 34 seconds! You smile all the way to the bakery section to get the only thing on your list… sourdough bread. And, the lady behind the counter tells you she sold the last one 4 minutes and 15 seconds ago.

You may know where I’m going with this. No, I’m not going to make you start baking sourdough. Your newest vibrant habit will to be to search for parking spots that are farther down the lot than where you normally park. Do this at least 5 times per week or every time you are in a parking lot! This will help you get more exercise and steps in during the week, burn more calories, lower your stress, and save you time (not to mention how much better your relationship with Mini Coopers will be). Try picking up your pace during the walk to and from your car to get your heart pumping a little bit more. If I had chosen the farthest parking spots since I passed my driver’s test (when windows still needed to be cranked up and down) and added 100 steps per day for 5 days each week, I would have added almost a million steps! That is about 500 vibrant miles I may have missed out on. But, I look back to learn and I look forward to improve. So, choose a parking space toward the back and save that close spot for the 22 year old who doesn’t yet know what she’s missing out on.