Walking threw difficulty 😖
Christmas is one of my favorite times of the year. We all start slowing down. We all take a moment to breathe and spend time with family or friends. It's a season of life that focuses on gratefulness and reflection on the year. 🎄
As I get to the end of the year I always love to pause and reflect on the year. I love to process what I did, what I did not do, and use this as a way of elevating next year's ambitions and goals for me and my family.
This season for me has been harder because it has been looking different. Good different, but different.
Work is ramping up, more and more trying to get packed into every hour. My family has been harder because of travel, busyness and others. On top of all that I am still trying to find time to study for my PMP certification.
Lots on my head and I honestly just want to unplug. 🔌
I have been trying to find space in my day every day to go on a walk around lunch. The weather has been beautiful. The sky full of clouds and the breeze has a nice crispness to it.
On these walks I have been able to unplug for a few minutes each day. To process life and to organize and regroup.
Not to mention there are some added health benefits to walking 😅
On my latest walk, I got to thinking about the power of taking a walk.
I have used it to get through my season of anxiety.
I have used it to get through a difficult season in my marriage.
I have used it to clear my head after a bad morning or afternoon at work.
Walks are something that I started and I have found a lot of peace with and in.
When life gets hard and it feels like the world is bearing down on you, a walk helps to gain perspective while also providing a natural outlet for physical energy and more!
I wish I had more of a magical or helpful answer on how to walk through difficulty in life. I have found that on my walks I am able to do a lot of processing and clearing of my mind. So much of life is about mental health (In my personal experience) and finding time in your day to walk I believe will reduce that mental load a little bit!
Above I mentioned in passing my season of anxiety. I used to be one of those people that said "People with Anxiety just don't run enough". That perspective was very ignorant to anxiety.
When I went through a season of extreme anxiety it changed me in a lot of ways. It gave me whole new respect for those who fight anxiety on the regular. For me the anxiety was telling me that I was pushing myself too hard, while not supplying enough sleep, food or exercise.
While those things I realized quickly and corrected, I continued to fight anxiety for many months. About 3 months of bad, and another 3 after that of off and on anxiety. Something I wish upon no one ever.
That season of life is when I started walking. In the moments that I felt this overwhelming anxiety, I was able to walk and walk and walk. I found that it eased the anxiety and helped me cope with it.
So maybe the next time you are feeling overwhelmed or stressed, take that walk.
I plan to instill walking meetings on the regular when I start my business 😊... no joke. It's gonna be a part of the culture! 💯
Comment what helps you walk through difficulty?
P.S. This is why I talk about running so much. It has also transformed my ability to handle stress, life, and difficulties.
If you're walking through a hard season, I would recommend the following book: Reset By David Murray. It helped me reset my mind and take more control back.
Struggling with the hustle? I would recommend reading: To Hell with Hustle By Jefferson Bethke