I almost exclusively wear all-black Vans Authentics. I’ve worn a pair of these shoes for almost a decade. I tie them once and then slip them on and off until I get new ones. This is to say that I am intimately familiar with this shoe and its relationship with my feet. I also gain and then lose the same 20 pounds every year. I’m currently down a little over 10 pounds in the last month and found myself retying my shoes the other morning.

It’s kind of an event having to retie these shoes, which is why it stuck out to me. I couldn’t stop thinking about it that day. The knot was still perfectly tight, but my foot was loose when I put the shoe on, which made no sense to me. Then I was looking at my health data and realized the most likely scenario is that I actually have, well, less foot. Once I realized that, it changed my mood that day and reminded me I’m heading in the right direction and to keep up the good work.

Small changes matter. Even just retying your shoes.