Ten Little Steps

Prologue
This post is not about turning your life around, although in a way it might be. And it's not about creating the ultimate Thanksgiving dish, yet that plays a part as well.

I read an article on the behavioral differences between fit and obese people several years ago. I wish I could find the reference, but the main point was this: People who are not fit, or obese find a bunch of little ways that they conserve energy. They don't get up as much when they work at a desk, they don't fidget, and they don't walk if they can avoid it.

The Story
This evening I found myself at the local big box supermarket. I went there to pick up some model paint, thinner and a snack for Mrs. GeekCyclist. It was a madhouse on account of all the people picking up dinner stuff.

On the way out I was behind a guy with a cart. In the cart was a box containing a single pair of boots. That's it; that's all he bought and he was pushing this pair of shoes to his car in a cart. As it turned out he was parked next to me, and I was parked next to the cart return. He put the box in the trunk and then proceeded to leave the cart between our cars.

That's right, rather than walk the ten steps to put the cart in the return, he left it between our cars. I looked around the parking lot and was amazed at the number of carts strewn all over the lot.

The Point
We constantly hear about people wanting to lose weight and get fit. But we have a society where we think our convenience is worth more than the time it takes to walk 10 steps. We believe that it's okay to take shortcuts or make decisions that go counter to anything we are trying to accomplish.