"Walk 10k steps/day" is a myth

A masterclass in effective goal-setting & communication techniques

Hi all, (almost 9000 readers now 😊)

A very common piece of advice to become healthy is to walk “10,000 steps per day” (about 8 km). It’s meant to be a habit that’s going to lead to better cardiovascular health, improved mood & brain function, better mobility, & healthy weight loss. However, what’s interesting is that this exact number, 10000, is somewhat arbitrary. There wasn’t any study or anything that led to the discovery of this exact number or recommendation. It actually comes from a marketing technique

“10k steps” was meant to be a marketing campaign for the early pedometers invented in Japan before the 1964 Olympics. The Japanese character for 10,000 looked like a person walking so the device was marketed as the Manpo-kei or 10,000 steps meter. And since then, the advice gained popularity and has become a part of modern-day medical advice. Why did this advice stick & become popular? The reasons behind this happening can tell us something amazing about 2 things, effective goal-setting & communication techniques:

1. Effective call-to-actions tend to be memorable one-liners. That’s why round figures & slogans that rhyme are so commonly chosen for public campaigns. That’s why Mr. Beast gives away $10K in his videos & not a different number because the title hits differently & sticks, according to him. We are more likely to take action if we can remember the call to action: if the call sticks.

2. Goals tend to stick when they can be turned easily into habits as they become precise & frequent. We can do them without thinking too much. The number of 10k steps is precise and doing it daily is frequent. They can become a habit really fast, as long as we ensure we aren’t missing them 2 days in a row as shown in this study. So, if you want to achieve a goal, think about how you can turn it into a precise & frequent activity (the goal of getting healthy becomes 10k steps per day).

3. Recommendations tend to become popular when people can observe how effective they are. Although 10k is an arbitrary number, the significant positive health effects of daily moderate walking are well-evident. As people, notice their health changes drastically for the better as they stick to this habit, they will recommend this to friends & family without any hesitation. That’s why advice like an apple a day became popular. It’s effective.

4. Goals & challenges tend to stick when the activity tied to it is challenging but not too challenging, known as the Goldilocks principle. It has to sit right at the edge of your present capabilities. That’s what 10k steps represent. It’s not a crazy number like a marathon but it’s also much more than what people usually walk, which is about 3 km per day. So, this habit can give us the thrill & reward (both mentally & physically because of the nice hormones) of finishing a challenging task but we don’t give up cause it’s too hard or too easy.

5. Goals are easier to accomplish when we can hold ourselves accountable. Since 10k steps can be measured easily, you can hold yourself accountable. You can know pretty easily when you aren’t hitting your goals by taking a look at your phone’s tracking. That’s why a lot of fitness-tracking software lets you share your daily progress on social media or in a group. More public accountability can lead to better public results.

If you think about it, I use the same effective principles to create a writing habit for me with the goal of becoming more knowledgeable & a better communicator. I write a 3-minute article, ~750 words, for this newsletter (precise), every week (frequently), & I now have thousands of readers to hold me accountable. I hope this can help you set goals for yourselves that you can actually accomplish via systems.

Stay motivated,
Seeam

Here is a podcast by Stanford Professor Andrew Huberman on goal setting: