On Breaking a Streak

Last Monday, my watch told me something shocking.  

It said, “One-day streak.”  

For 1,156 consecutive days (that’s over three years), I had met my steps goal. (See Lower the Bar) Even on sick days, riding days, and driving days, I had fit in a walk. So of course, I assumed my Garmin had messed up. Surely, it wasn’t me. But when I looked at Saturday’s stats, my circle was a U-shape. 

It took me a few hours to piece together what had happened. On Saturday afternoon, I gave blood. Before I left, my phlebotomist, Kim, told me not to exercise for 24 hours. 

Since I was hungry and tired from too little sleep the night before, it was easy to take her advice. I went home, ate, took a nap, and woke still feeling a little off. I worked on Finding Joy in the East before heading out to see comedian Jeff Allen with my friend Becky. 

Jeff kept us laughing for nearly two hours straight. Still buzzing from the show, I ordered his book, Are We There Yet? on Audible. Having met him in the lobby, I couldn’t wait to hear him read his own story. I listened for a while, wrote for a couple of hours, and drifted off to sleep listening to Jeff.  

It never even occurred to me to check my watch. 

After church, I finished listening to Jeff’s book as I walked my neighborhood, unaware that Saturday had slipped through the cracks. On Monday, the notification that my 1,156-day streak was gone jolted me out of bed. I would have to call Garmin and have them fix the problem, only to realize it was my problem, not theirs. 

How devastating. In over three years, I hadn’t missed a single day. How could I have forgotten?  

But I did. 

I broke my streak.  

So, what does that mean? 

It means I start again—just like I encourage you to do when you feel you’ve failed, let yourself or a loved one down, or broken a streak of your own. Just start again.