Following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the past week has felt overwhelming and all consuming. It’s hard to focus on anything else and a twitter rabbithole probably isn’t helping.
When I don’t know what to do and am stuck in a rut, I think Passion Pit has it right. Instead of clicking through another article, the best medicine may be to take a walk.
Getting out of the chair and moving gives me two immediate benefits
- It relieves tension as I pump my legs and instead of my brain
- Seeing new houses, streets, or areas switches my lens and I view situations in a new light
This may sound silly, but a 2014 Stanford study found walking improves creativity.
In fact, Jeremy DeSilva observed many intellectual greats (Charles Darwin, John Muir, Jonathan Swift, Immanuel Kant, Beethoven, and Friedrich Nietzsche, Charles Dickens, Steve Jobs, and Virginia Woolf) were all obsessive walkers. Each of them found walking as a way to reset their brain and stimulate new thoughts.
Walking with others
In fact, the only thing better than taking a walk might be walking with others.
Similar to roadtrips, walking is one of a few ways to be relaxed and fully present with another person. Since you’re moving, it’s likely neither person is using a phone and you are simply there with and for each other.
If the conversation starts slow, as you see new terrain in a walk/hike, it spurs different discussions. A child running across the street reminds you to ask your friend about her daughter’s recent birthday or walking by a bank jogs your memory that she just started a new job. New ideas or connections that originally weren’t possible now jump out at you. Your conversation is elevated to the next level and you’re able to explore topics together.
Next steps 😉
Walking likely won’t solve all of your problems, but it’s a step worth taking. At the end of the day, what’s your downside? It’s free and gets you out into the fresh air.