Steps: Week 2 Completed = 1,008 climbed

Morning of Constant Interruptions and Blips

It didn’t matter what I started yesterday morning, I kept getting interrupted and/or things just didn’t go as I’d planned: broken HTML code… corrupted files… blah, blah, blah.

And what didn’t help was I couldn’t see the sun. At all! The skies were gloomy, overcast, cold and everything just felt damp.

Week 2 | Day 3 | 84 x 4 = 336 – Ann Street Steps

I knew going for a walk that required focus and energy, would be good for me. I was hoping the sun would break through the clouds so I could walk under blue skies, like I had all week. But the more I delayed going out, the more – it seemed – things just kept getting worse at my desk.

There was also a part of me wondering whether my trekking poles would let me down today. That the improved ease I’d found climbing the steps linking Beerescourt Road to Ann Street, would have been just a dream. That they wouldn’t “work” that way today.

What if walking put me in an even worse frame of mind…?

What if I hated every minute and came back disappointed and maybe, just maybe, grumpy…?

Then what…?

Flower Focus

I knew I needed to get out of my own head and focus on things beautiful … which meant I needed to look!

Before I left home I decided on a Flower Focus for today’s walk. If I took the long way back to my car – which meant descending one fewer flights than ascending – I’d have lots of beautiful gardens to walk past.

The goal was to fill up my journal with lots of beautiful flowers to make me #smileontheinside.

Surprise Honey Bee

What a real surprise this was! A honey bee! Seriously – that made me smileontheinside and outside! when I captured this beautiful honey bee at work.

And look at the photo with the pollen sprinkled on the petals! I wonder whether the honey bee caused that…? Was he doing a bit of a jiggle…? a dance…? or did he get so pollen-covered grubby, he made a mess of the flower after…?

Of course, I can now see that it looks like (maybe?) the wind has knocked the petals against the pollen covered stamens as the shape is the same.

All these crazy, silly, making-up-story thoughts going through my head – which meant pushing aside my grumpy state of earlier #smilingontheinside

I didn’t notice the pollen marks when I took the photo – only when I got back home and was scrolling through my stash of flower focus photos. Another smilingontheinside moment.

White Collection

Colourful Collection

Mental Equilibrium Restored

I was pleased (relieved?) that the trekking poles still worked – that is, they’re still beneficial in step climbing. I wouldn’t go so far as to say I’m marching up the steps, but I can certainly climb with more ease (read: less pain and less puff) than without.

By the time I got back to my car I’d worked up more than a mere glow and I could definitely feel my mental equilibrium had been restored.

Resilience Renewal

This week I’ve climbed 1,008 steps across three days. From a resilience renewing perspective it means, I’ve been able to add deposits to my Resilience Account because I feel good about myself because I’ve:

• accomplished my weekly objective of 3 walks x 4 flights;
• kept the promise I made to myself;
• clocked up some huffy-puffy exercise which is good for my physical health
• spent some quality time outside among the birds and the bees

all of which helps me to #smileontheinside.

#smilingontheinside – Friday 23 May 2025

My World Today

Here’s to regaining equilibrium via walking…

Here’s to getting out of your own head…

Here’s to beautiful flowers and surprise honey bees!

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Here’s to SmilingOnTheInside!