10k steps a day, do we actually need that many?

I’ve always heard that 10,000 steps a day is the “magic number” for staying healthy, but I recently started wondering if it actually makes that much of a difference.

Some days I naturally get 10k+ steps, while on others I barely hit 5–6k, and I’m not sure whether I should be trying to reach 10k every single day.

Do you actually notice a difference when you consistently hit 10k or maybe just focusing on being generally more active throughout the day is enough?