Exercise Like a Goose

Over the last month there have been a lot of Canada geese flying over our neighborhood.  My family loves birds, and together we’ve been watching them with awe and wonder.

Their endurance is impressive:

  • They cover thousands of miles each year when migrating.
  • In a single day they can stay aloft for 8-10 hours at a time.

But the geese don’t do this haphazardly.  There’s a system to it:

  • Collaboration – they fly in a V-shaped pattern that allows the birds to utilize aerodynamics and fly 60% farther than if they were flying alone.
  • Rest & Recovery – they don’t fly long distances every day.  They typically fly all day, for 1-2 days, then stop to rest for 1-3 days at a stopover location, then they continue the pattern.  They maintain this routine for weeks until they reach their destination.
  • Self-awareness – each flock of birds chooses its own pace.  Some have longer flying days and shorter recovery periods.  Others take a more leisurely pace with longer stopover breaks.

This raises questions that could help us (humans) improve our own exercise:

  1. What are my goals? Birds are headed for warmer climates. Why am I exercising?
  2. Does my exercise match those goals?
  3. Am I going at a pace I can sustain without feeling exhausted or bored, or quitting?
  4. Do I have time for rest built in?
  5. Would it help if I sought out others to join me?

When it comes to exercise, if it’s not sustainable, it’s not a solution.

Tomorrow (Thursday 3pm ET) I’m hosting a workshop called Healthy without the Hell.

In 60 minutes, you’ll discover a process for feeling more limber, nourished and energetic by making smart adjustments to your daily routines.

Imagine if:

  1. your schedule was built to include exercise, instead of squeezing the exercise in?
  2. your exercise routine was sustainable and consistent?
  3. exercise was a source of energy, not another chore?

Come join us and see how you can create routines that are so aligned with you, that you’re excited to do them and eager to make time for them.

The workshop details and sign-up are here.  It’s $100, and the recording is included if you sign up in advance.

Photo of Stephen Mayo
MEET THE FOUNDER
Stephen Mayo

A Seasoned Executive and Consultant, Stephen Mayo is the founder of The Questions Company, bringing an innovative coaching approach to help leaders get their busy workload under control so they have the bandwidth to make even greater contributions.

Subscribe

Subscribe to the weekly newsletter, and get a Free PDF delivered to your inbox: The Top 5 Reasons You Are So Busy (and what to do about it).

We respect your privacy and will only use your email for our weekly communications.
We will not share or sell your information. 

Something went wrong. Please check your entries and try again.

RECENT POSTS

What Low Tide Reveals

Last week I was in Maine, a place where my family has deep roots. One of my favorite parts of […]
Read More

2 Minutes Between Interruptions

In June, Microsoft published a report on the “Infinite Workday.” Based on data from Microsoft 365 usage patterns, the report […]
Read More

Why 98° Air Feels So Hot

Have you ever wondered why 98° air feels uncomfortably hot — even though our resting body temperature is also about 98°? I […]
Read More

BYOC – Bring Your Own Confidence

We get conditioned to draw confidence from lots of external sources: Our title and rank.Approval from our superiors.Praise from our […]
Read More

Decision Fatigue

Do you ever notice how it’s not always the biggest decisions that drain you—but the ones you keep postponing? I had a […]
Read More
Scroll to Top