We all know that sitting too long is the new cancer!!!
Now we have our watches, our mobile devices and apps telling us to get off our butts every 90 minutes…
We have a saying in French: ‘go for a walk and let the fresh air clear your thoughts’ …
Why not apply this same principle in our work environment? Instead of sitting down, having meeting after meeting (let’s face it, some are not so productive!), how about going for a walk with your team member?
Walking is great for one-on-ones…
Let’s get practical here, life is in constant movement, thoughts and words are in constant motion, and so are our emotions, they flow in their highs and their lows. Energy is never still.
… Movement creates change, and so, if we sit too long, our energy becomes stagnant, we become tired and our brain starts to slow down.
Movement changes your point of focus
Movement – standing, walking, dancing, jumping, hopping, skipping… helps you live a healthier life!! Movement is medicine for creating change in our physical, emotional and mental wellbeing.
Walking while talking will change the way you think, and it will shed light on your problems or opportunities – it will stimulate energy!
Walking also helps you see things in a different light, it will help you shift your focus and maybe change your interpretations of what you see, hear or feel. Not to mention, exercise stimulates the endorphins (the feel-good chemical) in our brains, so we start to feel happier, and more positive the moment our blood starts to circulate. This can only be beneficial.
When I need to clear my head, or change the way I am thinking, I go for a walk. When the time permits, I go for a hike… Not only does it stimulate and change my stagnant energy, it changes my scenery – which stimulates my creativity and it helps me to get ‘away from it all’. Sometimes the effect is similar to a big session of meditation – my mind clears with each breath, and I feel refreshed and cleansed and ready to focus.
Change is an opportunity to do something amazing
But sometimes – especially if you walk alone your head can just be on ‘repeat autoplay’ and that’s not productive. To help move from what you’re thinking about (the problem) to the solution, here’s something that works for me.
Focus on the next object that crosses your path. As you do that, what stories come to mind? Often, you can metaphorically compare the object with your problem.
Thoughts come clearly while one walks
Some days when I have extra time and I am feeling super creative, I will list a whole lot of objects that I set my eyes on or even some feelings or experiences that I find interesting.
And then, when I am back at my desk, I do a brain dump, and turn it into a mind map… where I write out or draw out each experience or object and start listing all the things that are associated to that particular object or experience. Then I ask myself a few questions;
- How does this relate to my problem?
- What are the connections with my problem and the objects?
- What are the stories that present between my problem and my objects?
- What are the solutions that come to mind with my problem?
Get the creative juices flowing
When you allow your mind to wander after you have gone for a stroll, and your intention is to find a ‘solution’ in a creative manner… by tapping into your right brain, your ideas and production soar.
If you are a leader, an entrepreneur, a business owner or a coach, try having your meetings while walking, especially coaching sessions, it’s a magnificent way to work in collaboration to solve a problem by making it fun and light, and allow others to tap into their creativity, their imagination with an object and how is it aligned with their problem.
Visuals have the ability to tap into that greater part of our mind, and if you want to shift some of your S*!^ or limiting beliefs from your unconscious mind, movement helps with the breakthrough process.
So, the next time you are doing your one-on-one, try taking your meeting out for a walk and use your environment, objects and experiences as part of the solution as an outcome. Have fun with it!