I like to walk. Walking is for me both cardiac exercise and moving meditation – I think about very little while I’m moving. I generally prefer “urban” walking to the woods – I enjoy thought-free gazing at buildings and people, waving to some of each as the spirit moves me.

Last week, however, while enjoying a few days on Cape Cod, I decided early on a Thursday morning to walk on the tree-lined Cape rail trail. It was a great morning for a walk – temperature in the low 70s, modest humidity, and a light ocean breeze. I picked up the rail trail where it crosses Main Street in Orleans, Massachusetts and turned right to head north toward Eastham.

I generally walk at about a twitch over 3 miles an hour. One reason for this is I just like to move. The other is I’m seeking to raise my heart rate to over 100 beats per minute. Steady-state moderate cardiac exercise. Often when I walk, I establish a rhythm by playing music on my phone or singing to myself or aloud. John Philip Sousa marches are a favorite. On this particular morning, John Phillip must have been sleeping late because I wasn’t hearing any music in my head as I walked and playing music “out loud” (I eschew ear buds) from the phone might disturb other walkers, Cape birds, sleeping clams, hung-over oysters, whatever – not the best.

As I moved along the trail I noticed two things. First, people walking in pairs or small groups seemed to set and maintain a constant pace; they fell into a rhythm and kept that pace going together. Second, walking alone and without music, I felt myself slowing down from time to time. What to do?

I remembered the metronome app on my phone. Good for music practice. Why not use it for the walk?

I set it for 125 beats per minute – a little faster than typical Sousa, brisk enough for the heart – and off we went for another 45 minutes.

Psychologist James Clear popularized the idea that we do not rise to the level of our goals; we fall to the level of our systems – the routine practices that keep us on track.

So, while the joyless metronomic “click, click, click, click, click” was less inspiring than marching to Sousa, the feedback loop was short and direct. When my pace slowed even a hair, I could tell within two steps and restore my pace.

Nick Miller is President of Clarity Advantage based in Concord, MA. He assists banks and credit unions to generate more and more profitable relationships, faster, with business clients, their owners, and their employees through better sales strategies and execution. Additional articles on Clarity’s web site.