A simple way to come unstuck

Want to lift your mood and unlock cognitive powers? Try going for a walk.

Due to a succession of storms, colds, Covid, and the discomfort of Raynauds, I haven’t been spending much time in nature these past few months. 

So it’s been an absolute joy to get back into the woods and once more experience the scents and textures and fractals in all their glory. To feel the stickiness of tree sap on my palms. And spot birds, red squirrels and deer darting through the trails. 

This is my church. It’s where I go to feel the awe and wonder of being a tiny human, under towering trees. Where my worries are given perspective. And where new creative paths begin to open.

I’ve missed it while I’ve been hunkering down. But I appreciate it all the more for having been away. 

Have you found a place that opens you up to possibility, while allowing you to reset, reconnect and recharge?

Photo by Irina Iriser on Unsplash

Feeling a bit stuck on something or low on ideas? Heading out for a walk, if you can, could help.

From Beethoven (it's believed that his love of long walks inspired his Symphony No. 6) to Virginia Woolf to Steve Jobs, many of the world’s best known creative minds have harnessed the power of walking to develop groundbreaking work. 

This sentiment is echoed by many musicians, entrepreneurs, writers and designers today, who say that regular walking boosts their ability to think out of the box and generate new ideas. 

Artist Polly Morgan (who uses taxidermy to create works of art) says that one of her favourite new ideas came about when she was walking through a forest and stopped to investigate a weed. 

Meanwhile, business innovator Nilofer Merchant has seen a powerful shift since she took her meetings outdoors. She’s now an advocate of walking while talking and believes that fresh air helps produce fresh ways of thinking. 

And research backs this up...

Stanford researchers investigating creativity levels in people while they walked versus while they sat, found that creative output increased by an average of 60 percent with walking.

Neuroscientist Shane O’Mara, a professor at Trinity College Dublin, believes that regular walking is a superpower which unlocks the cognitive powers of the brain.

Not only does walking help you generate more ideas, it’s also a powerful mood lifter. 

O’Mara’s advice is to take simple steps to build more walking into your day (get off the bus a couple of stops early, go a bit further afield to grab your lunch, keep comfy shoes nearby at all times). 

And if a walk doesn’t work and you’re still feeling low on creative energy, try taking a nap or getting a good night’s sleep.

A final note...

It’s important to acknowledge that walking isn’t accessible and safe for everyone. There’s a reason why most of the historic examples you’ll regularly find cited (Wordsworth, Dickens, Darwin etc) - are privileged white men.

And many great creative thinkers - including Stephen Hawking, who thrived for over 50 years with ALS and used a wheelchair - generate world changing ideas and works without stepping out one foot in front of the other each day. 

So if you’re not able to get out for a walk right now, please remember that creativity moves in many (some still mysterious!) ways.

This post was first published in The Spark newsletter in April 2022