Walking for a Healthy Mindset

I never thought that mundane and monotonous activities like walking can be the most difficult activity to initiate and complete if it is related to physical fitness. I used to go for regular walks during evenings pre-covid times. I used to enjoy those evening walks. Somehow, I am not able to comprehend the change in my feelings towards walking. Nevertheless, with the sudden end of running on the treadmill due to knee pain and humongous weight gain, I had to revert to walking outdoors. 

I was never a morning person and I badly wanted a change in my daily schedule so I started waking up at 5 am in the morning. I used to be out of my house by 5:30 a.m. and start my morning walk. I was consistent for a month. I started to find a drastic difference in the way I feel and function throughout the day. My energy was at a different level. I seldom felt lost. I felt happy and positive. I also noticed I interacted more positively with others. Morning walks were not only helping me maintain a fit lifestyle but it was also improving the cognitive, emotional, and social aspects of my life. One thing I learned from that one month of being consistent in morning walking, I was getting better at being a decent human being.

Unfortunately, I changed the timing of my walks and opted for evening walks. I am someone who gets bored easily. Morning walk was becoming monotonous and one thing that bores me the most is monotony in life. So, I went for evening walks. I used to take different routes during my walks to minimize the feeling of monotony. By the second week after changing the timing of my walk, I started feeling tired and too lazy to go for a walk. I used to skip a day or two. I then became inconsistent with my evening walks. Once I skipped a walk for long enough to get leg cramps while walking. I started feeling uneasy, lost, irritated, frustrated, and low about myself. I wondered what changed? I was a different person just a couple of months ago. The only possible intervention was to get back to my morning walk. I tried waking up in the morning. I hit the snooze button more often and the temptation to catch a few hours of sleep was strong enough to break my determination and willpower to go for a morning walk. 

I was at the point where I had to show tough self-love. I dragged myself out of comfy bed and without contemplating even for a second, I rushed out of the house to go for a morning walk.  I had a choice either to be a bitter and lazy person or to be a lovable and energetic person. Evening walks made me a bitter and lazy person as most of the time I used to skip my walk. Morning walks transformed me into a lovable, likable, and cheerful person albeit I cursed every morning my alarm goes off.  

I might have resumed my journey of walking with the intention of losing weight and being fit. In the process of walking, changing my walking schedule, and overcoming the daily struggle of resisting the temptation to be a couch potato, I realized that I should change my perspective and objectives of walking. Walking is tiresome and hectic if I view it from the perspective of a workout regime. But on the other hand, walking is an interesting activity if I view it as an opportunity to be outdoors. Being an introvert who will go to lengths just to avoid small talk with people, morning is a perfect time to be outdoors. I encounter countable people on the way and wearing earphones keeps people away. Serene nature and sublime morning view from the hilltop, my favorite end-point of morning walk, uplift my mood instantly. Being in the wild and breathing the fresh and crisp air early in the morning sans the air and noise pollution provides ample of me-time. I am someone who loves being in my own world, and I tend to overthink. So, me-time is extremely important for me to be charged up to get through my daily life. I get to capture beautiful pictures of the sky, trees, and empty roads. I then post it on my social media handles. Sharing daily random pictures from my walks keeps me connected and active on social media and minimizes the frequency of mere and mindless scrolling through newsfeeds and explore pages. I could see only positive changes in both real and virtual life brought about by morning walks. Hopefully, I will be consistent with my morning walks. 

Here are some captures from my walks: