What Walking Taught Me in 2023
We did it - we walked 300 walks in 2023! For those of you who follow me and my friends on Instagram, my apologies that you also had to endure 300 pictures of our walks. What can I say - I am someone who thrives off of external accountability. More on that later. But for now, I’m here to celebrate the fact that we set a goal at the beginning of 2023 and saw it through. We officially completed our 300th walk on December 17, 2023. This is how the goal was actually established: Lindsey, being the wonderful Enneagram 1 she is, set a goal for herself to go on 300 walks this year. She’s ambitious. This goal was then shared with me (Enneagram 8) and Hannah (a beautiful combo of Enneagram 6 & 3 energy). This is seriously the group you want if you have a collective goal. Between our 1, 8, 6 and 3 energy, this was sure to get accomplished. If someone around me wants to accomplish something, I am cheering them on and forcefully making the goal my own so their success is my success. I can be a little intense, but it gets the job done. Hannah is the most loyal and consistent person I’ve ever met. So the three of us were a dream team in terms of group accountability.
We walked a LOT. Most of these were three-mile walks (some were a bit shorter because we didn’t have enough time or it was raining on us). I think the coldest walk was somewhere between 18-21 degrees and the hottest was somewhere in the mid-90’s. We were committed, y’all - rain, shine, snow, sleet, etc. I could have never known what positive impacts these walks would have on me. I’m a fairly active person to begin with, but there were definitely many physical benefits. But the benefits that surprised me most were all emotional, spiritual and mental. This year, I got to see how much showing up for yourself makes a big impact. To tell yourself that you are going to do something and actually do it has such compounding effects on positive mental health. We can get ourselves into a negative shame spiral when we don’t honor the commitments we make to ourselves. This walking goal was a testament to how powerful showing up for yourself can be. The emotional and mental benefits of being outside for an hour a day moving your body are so powerful. Even while dealing with immense chronic pain over the last few years, I kept moving and my body thanked me for it. On days when we missed walks, my body craved the movement it was missing. It feels super easy to commit to a goal like this when your body is sending you signals to tell you that this is a good thing for you.
Walking helped me learn things about myself. Spending time outside talking, processing and listening to the sound of your feet hit the pavement over and over again was so healing for my soul. It helped me get out of my head and into my body and remember that the things that seem so impossible or challenging don’t have a hold on me. My daily walks became a safe place to land and to destress from whatever happened that day. I’m grateful for two amazing friends who helped facilitate that type of space this year. It’s true what they say about trauma - it needs a place to go. This year has been so helpful in moving some trauma out of my bones, joints and muscles. There’s a lot more to go, but this got me on a path that I won’t quit on. My body thanks me for it over and over again.
For you, it certainly doesn’t need to be a walking goal. But as we think about our intentions for 2024, in what ways would you like to show up for yourself? Can you think of a loving and tender way to support your mental, physical, spiritual and emotional well-being this year? You deserve to love yourself well. I hope you begin 2024 by setting an intention that helps you do that. ❤️
