Over the past few weeks, I have written about taking the first minute, then the second minute, celebrating small victories along the way, remembering to put on our own oxygen mask first, and discovering that Physical Literacy is about much more than movement. Each week has been another small step on the same journey. Today, I’d like to ask a different question.
Who are you becoming?
When we begin a journey toward becoming more active, it is easy to measure only the obvious things. Has the number on the scale changed? Can I walk farther? Am I stronger? Can I run faster? Those measurements can be helpful, but they rarely tell the whole story.
Maybe the scale hasn’t changed. Maybe your energy is just a little better. Maybe you’re sleeping through the night more often. Maybe you don’t reach for that extra sugary drink every afternoon. Maybe, like I have, you’ve started parking a little farther away without even thinking about it. None of those changes make headlines, but something important has happened.
You have become someone who keeps showing up. Maybe it’s still just that first minute we talked about a few weeks ago. Maybe you’ve added a second minute. Maybe you’re enjoying a full workout. It doesn’t matter. You are showing up.
Showing up is where change begins. Showing up for ourselves. Showing up for our families. Showing up for our teammates, our communities, and the people around us. We don’t always have our best day, but every time we show up and give what we have that day, we’re building something much bigger than fitness. We’re building trust in ourselves.
Physical Literacy reminds us that movement is about much more than physical competence. It is also about confidence, motivation, knowledge, and understanding. But perhaps one of its greatest gifts is something we don’t talk about often enough.
Identity.
We often think we need to become an active person before we begin moving. Physical Literacy quietly teaches us the opposite.
Maybe you’re still taking that first minute we talked about a few weeks ago. Maybe you’ve added a second minute. Maybe those minutes have become ten, twenty, or even an hour. Or maybe life got busy, and you’re back to one minute again. And that’s okay.
Because it was never about the number of minutes. It was always about becoming the kind of person who keeps showing up.
One minute becomes two. Two minutes become five. Five minutes become a walk around the block. A walk becomes part of your day. And one day you realize that movement isn’t something you have to force yourself to do anymore. It’s simply part of who you are.
That identity doesn’t appear overnight. It grows quietly through hundreds of ordinary decisions that almost nobody notices. Every time we choose to move, we’re casting another vote for the person we’re becoming.
The same is true beyond movement. Every time we encourage someone, volunteer at an event, coach a young athlete, spend time playing with our children or grandchildren, or choose connection instead of staying home, we’re becoming someone. Those small choices slowly shape our identity, often long before we recognize the change ourselves.
Perhaps that is one of the greatest lessons Physical Literacy can teach us. It isn’t about becoming perfect. It isn’t about never missing a workout or always making the healthiest choice. It is about becoming someone who believes movement belongs in their life and who understands that every small step matters.
So this week’s challenge is a little different. Instead of asking yourself what you accomplished today, ask yourself: What kind of person am I becoming through my small daily choices?
Because sometimes the greatest transformation isn’t measured by a number on a scale, the distance we walked, or the weight we lifted. Sometimes the greatest transformation is becoming someone who simply keeps showing up.