3 Things that happen when I walk.
Walking is a fun, and very useful activity, not only for physical health but for mental health as well.
I reluctantly started my morning walks a few years back when I realized that I am not at all paying attention to my physical well-being. My schedules, travel, food habits, irregular sleep made me put on weight and lazy. However one day I decided to change and took my first walk early in the morning, from the bedroom to the living room and outside to the jogger’s park.
It took me some time to cross the first hurdle of at least getting up every morning and moving out of bed to walk. Eventually, it wasn’t the challenge anymore.
The second challenge was boredom. Should I take some friends to walk along? How do I kill this boredom? Where do I find the motivation to complete my targeted number of steps and time? Eventually, I found the solution to that too.
So, What happens when I walk? and Why do I enjoy this activity and find it enriching? Read on.
Develop a Good habit & discipline: Good habits can be cultivated as bad habits can. They can be cultivated through determination and discipline. It’s not easy, yet simple, only if we are determined, disciplined, and willing to follow a regime. Initially waking up early and going for a walk was painful, but persistence prevailed. After a while, it felt as if I have an internal alarm, that sounded every morning nudging me to go for a walk. An evening walk compensated if I missed the morning on. The nudge was always there. The internal nudge made my walks a ritual and a discipline. This one discipline helped me cultivate other good ones, eg, I gave up smoking soon after. It seems I got the key to develop better habits, potentially capable of bringing the change in life. Just remember to have the will, determination, and discipline to change.
De-Socialize and Learn: Walking alone can be a pain, especially for those who like to be in people’s company. For me it’s contrary, I like to walk alone. Instead of talking, I like to listen. During that 45 mins walk, I like to listen to music or podcasts by some very talented and extraordinary people on various subjects. This listening helps me learn a lot about investing, what’s changing around me, how the world is transforming. What are the new phenomenal technologies that are going to build the future? It’s a me-time where I rebuild my focus, learn and think.
Generate Fresh Ideas: Listening to these experts often makes me ponder about my interest in work. I have been able to generate ideas and implement them. While walking too, I ensure I make a note somewhere. It is sometimes simply making notes in what’s app chat and sending it to a close friend or family member. These ideas have been fodder to whatever changes I have been able to bring in my work and life.
I learned this line in a Podcast by Vinod Khosla, where he says “Not all hard things are valuable, but all valuable things are hard.” The process of continuous improvement is exactly the same. Simple value addition in life will be hard to come by unless we persist with discipline, and pursue it with determination. One simple habit of walking had a spiral effect on many other aspects of my life and work. It would be hard to cultivate a good habit, however, the value it will add will be immense.
Keep walking.
