At the end of my busy day, I have found walking to be a great way to bring peace to my psyche. You see, as a stay-at-home Dad, I’m in a constant state of stress. While my wife, Lori gets ready for work, I wake up in the morning and worry about how I’m going to get our six-year-old son, Jake to school on time.
After dropping Jake off , I come home and I try to get some writing done always knowing that I still have to do the laundry, clean the house and prepare dinner. At 3:00 I have to pick up Jake from school and make sure he does his homework. Sometimes I go into the city for a seemingly endless slew of appointments and errands. By the end of the day, my mind is doing jumping jacks.
When I walk, my mind is at ease. I get in to a zone where all I think about is the next step, and the step after that and so on. The pressures of my daily responsibilities melt away when I walk.
Lately, the weather hasn’t been great for walking outdoors. But that is no excuse for me to not keep moving. I go into the hallway outside our apartment and walk back and forth. I walk in the evening when Lori is home and our son is asleep. I only stop when I reach 15,000 steps on my tracker.
I sometimes feel ridiculous going back and forth like a mouse in a cage but I just look straight ahead and focus on my stepping. Every time I get to the end of the hallway I smack the wall with my hand. I turn around and walk back to the other end of the hall and repeat. Sometimes my neighbors come out and encourage me while admitting that they wish they had my work ethic.
Since I started my walking routine, I have never felt better and I’ve lost eleven pounds. One of the my neighbors put it succinctly, “Walking is the best exercise you can do.” He’s right. It relaxes me. It strengthens my body and builds my confidence. That’s how I thrive.
Originally published at medium.com