When you walk, your brain synapses fire in different ways Great minds literally think on their feet. Many of history’s famous philosophers, artists, scientists, writers, and creators valued value walking as much as they valued productive work. Aristotle, Charles Dickens, Henry David Thoreau, Virginia Woolf, Albert Einstein, Friedrich Nietzsche and many others made time for long walks. They used long walks for contemplation, reflection and problem-solving. They found walking helped them think better, ponder over ideas and get more done once they got back to writing, creating, designing or composing. “The moment my legs begin to move, my thoughts begin to flow,” Henry David Thoreau, a philosopher, poet, and environmental scientist, once said. Aristotle used to conduct some of his lectures while walking on the school grounds. William Wordsworth once said walking was “indivisible” from the creative act of writing poetry. Charles Dickens used to walk for 20 miles after writing in the morning. “If I could not walk far and fast, I think I should just explode and perish,” Dickens once said.
German philosopher Immanuel Kant walked at the same time in the afternoon and took the same route almost every day. Friedrich Nietzsche used to walk for an hour in the morning and three hours in the afternoon. “All truly great thoughts are conceived by walking.” To maintain focus, concentration and focus, great thinkers often take long, long walks. It helps them clear their minds, think clearly and be ready for another productive work. Have you ever taken a long walk, and suddenly the world stops spinning, your worries disappear, and the solution to all your problems appears in front of you? You see everything so clearly; you can’t help but feel a sense of calm wash over you. It’s almost as if you’re seeing your life from a different angle, and it makes you think twice about everything you’d done up till that point. What does walking have to do with brilliant minds? “I would walk along the quais when I had finished work or when I was trying to think something out. It was easier to think if I was walking and doing something or seeing people doing something that they understood.” ― Ernest Hemingway Longer walks, it turns out, are scientifically proven to help you stay on track and process important information more efficiently. Researchers at the University of Glasgow in Scotland have found that long walks can have a positive impact on our mental health, helping us see things from a different angle and increasing our creativity by around 60%. If you’re anything like me, your mind tends to wander when you’re out for a walk. Maybe you’re daydreaming, or maybe you’re just trying to get some fresh air and clear your head. Either way, these walks tend to involve more thinking than usual. Long walks can be a great opportunity to delve deeper into subjects that we may normally gloss over, or they can be an opportunity to fail miserably at trying to think of something else. Long walks can sometimes be the catalyst for discovering something new. This is because they allow us to mull over a certain idea, and sometimes that’s enough to trigger a solution. The general consensus is that a great mind takes long walks, but there aren’t very many details about why this is. Long walks are very beneficial to our minds; you should take long walks every now and then. People with high levels of working memory tend to take long walks to process information and stay on task. We’re not talking about getting away from it or taking a break from working. No, we’re talking about taking a long walk so you can clear your head and really think through what you need to accomplish. Taking a walk in the fresh air can do wonders for your mind, body, and soul. It can also reduce your stress and anxiety, clear your head, and inspire you. If you want to do more productive work and think a lot better, you need to walk regularly. Walking is an underappreciated habit. It can be as simple as taking a walk on the beach or just taking a walk around your neighbourhood. When you walk, your brain synapses fire in different ways. You have more ideas when you combine reading with walking because it’s more physical, which means it’s not just your imagination that’s firing up new connections and thoughts but also your body. If you want to think critically, it’s important to keep your brain active in different ways. One of the best ways to do this is by going for a walk each day. It will help you gain new perspectives on life and keep you healthy as well as stimulate your brain. “Above all, do not lose your desire to walk: every day I walk myself into a state of well being and walk away from every illness. I have walked myself into my best thoughts, and I know of no thought so burdensome that one cannot walk away from it,” Søren Kierkegaard, a Danish theologian, philosopher and poet once said. When it comes to physical health, walking is one of the most important activities anyone can do. According to Dr David Dunstan, director of the Australian Neuroscience Research Institute and professor at the University of Melbourne,just 10 minutes of daily walking can help you live longer. Spending at least 15 minutes every day and taking a walk outside are some of the best ways to take care of yourself. To write better and think clearly, I aim to walk for at least 30 minutes every day. It’s truly beneficial for the mind. When you make walking a habit, you’re establishing a routine that will change how you think and improve your health at the same time. By Thomas Oppong Photocredit: Unsplash Comments are closed.
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Suzie Doscher is a Professional Executive Coach focusing on Personal Development. Located in Zurich, Switzerland. Her approach to personal development is practical and successful.
Suzie is happiest when helping people. Her vision is everyone should have access to techniques for personal growth and development. This was the motivation behind her book. 
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