Week 1: Walking Off My Midlife Crisis
How It All Began
Well, I’m in week 1 of my 52-week journey, and I’m already wondering the big question, will a midlife crisis pass? What if it doesn’t pass? What if I stay in limbo? What if I can’t figure our my purpose in life? I’m embarking on a journey, also known as, Project Maptastrophe: A Woman’s Guide To Navigating A Midlife Crisis Like Athena. If you’re new to this series, go check out my first article where I explain with all the gory details. After over 2 years of feeling lost and ashamed I found out, I’m not losing my mind, I’m in fact having a woman’s midlife crisis. There was some ugly crying involved, too much ice cream, and cringe-worthy text messages to friends I missed. Trust me, go read the first article, it will all make sense.
Tackling The Physical Aspect Of A Midlife Crisis
I simply did not care about anything other than going from the bed to my desk, from the desk to the kitchen, and from the kitchen to the couch. While making my rounds I would question why am I here, what do I want in life, what do I want to do next, and what does God expect of me, and so on. All things I THOUGHT I had answered in my thirties. After over 2 years of not caring about my well-being, weight, looks, career, God, friends, or finances, I’m embarking on a new journey to conquer the midlife crisis.
In my first article, I explained I would be exploring the Emotional, Spiritual, Financial, Vocational, Physical, or Relational sides of a midlife crisis. Essentially, each week I will care about something in one of these categories.
This week, I’m taking on the physical aspect of a midlife crisis. Essentially, I’m going to care about my physical appearance. I’ve decided to go on a hike at Shrader Weaver Woods.
Why Walk When You Are Going Through A Midlife Crisis
Walking Helps Us Think
There’s a ton of research that suggests walking can do wonders for our mental and physical well-being. Matter of fact ancient Greek philosopher Aristotle wrote many times about the benefits of walking. In the painting below, named “The School Of Athens’ by Raphael Fresco, you can see Aristotle and Plato walking as their students follow taking notes. However, Aristotle was not the only ancient Greek philosopher that sang the praises of walking. Jean-Jacques Rousseau once said, “To travel on foot is to travel in the fashion of Thales, Plato, and Pythagoras. I find it hard to understand how a philosopher can bring himself to travel in any other way; how he can tear himself from the study of the wealth which lies before his eyes and beneath his feet.”
So, I suppose if walking is good enough for ancient philosophers it’s good enough for me.
Walking Is Good For Creativity
Clearly, I’m wrestling with a variety life decisions. Studies have shown that walking is good for creativity. Creativity can unlock imagination and our imagination can solve problems. This was rational for wanting to walk more. If I can become more creative I will figure out why I am on earth! In one Stanford University study, researchers found that walking boosts creative output by 60 percent! The study found not only does the creativity flow better while we are walking but, the creativity continues once we’ve stopped walking.
Walking Is Good For Our Brains
Additionally, I found in an Atlantic article, that reported: One of the largest studies ever conducted was on a group of 121,000 nurses, who were surveyed on a wide range of their health and lifestyle habits starting in 1976. The survey was repeated every two years. This established a trove of valuable information, which public-health researchers have been fruitfully mining since. Among them is Rush University assistant professor Jennifer Weuve, who studied the data collected on 18,766 of the nurses, who were then ages 70 to 81, to unearth connections between exercise and cognitive ability. The results, published in The Journal of the American Medical Association, suggested that those who exercised the most—the group that maintained a median level of walking for six hours a week—were 20 percent less likely to show cognitive impairment than those who exercised the least.
So, clearly walking is good for our brains! Given my brain is telling me I’m a failure and I’m lost – walking might just be the thing I need to do to set my mind right.
Of Course It’s Raining, Walk Anyway
I forced myself out of bed on Saturday, January 1st, dreading the first week of my 52-week journey to navigate a midlife crisis. I didn’t feel like going. Today was the day I was to change the trajectory of my life. Yet, I considered putting it off, kind of like I do everything else. Of course, it was expected to rain, THE ENTIRE DAY! This weather prediction seemed like a sign, right? Do not go! However, I dug out my waterproof hiking shoes and jacket.
Pulling out my AllTrails app I found the closest and shortest trail to my house. Shrader Weaver Woods is a 2-mile trail through the woods in the middle of cornfields in Fayette County. This was doable for me and my corgi, Nala. Perfect. She and I will slog through those 2 miles and then hurry home so I can mope around the rest of New Year’s Day.
My Cloud Clears Even When The Rain Clouds Didn’t
It was not particularly cold out but the rain made it miserable. I sat in my running car for 10 minutes wondering will a midlife crisis pass? If so, how soon? When I can expect to know all the answers to all of the questions? Then, I started the old narrative in my head that’s played countless times. “Lets put this off until next weekend. You don’t have to do this.” When my mind played those words I knew I had to get out. Finally, I gathered my headphones, leash, and the dog to set out for a walk in the woods.
When I began the walk I had intended to listen to a book but, I was quickly annoyed by the hood rubbing my headphones cord. Frustrated and hating everything, I stuffed the headphones in my pocket and trudged on. It was about 10 minutes into my walk that I noticed my mood was lifting. The rain no longer bothered me. I began to smile while chatting with Nala about all the things she was seeing and smelling.
Bend But Do Not Break
As I made my way through the winding trail I came across this tree. I stood there staring at it for the longest time. I realized that the tree had bent to the ground but did not break. I felt this could be me too. I could bend but, I had to refuse to break. I had to be like this tree, though pulled to the ground I would not snap in half.
There in the middle of these small woods in the center of a bunch of cornfields, I promised myself to not give up on this project.
Before And After
As part of this project I committed to reporting you on what I felt before and after what ever I tackled during the week. I’m not sure if I can keep this up but I’m going to try. However, you can see from my meters approve that first walk did wonders for my physical and emotional well-being.
For 52 weeks I will give care about a specific aspect of my life. I hope you will follow along in my journey.
About The Author
Lauralee Hites is a full-time management consultant who owns Stratavize Consulting Inc. a boutique consulting firm. She’s a part-time writer and blogger who is navigating midlife. When Lauralee is not speaking or working with clients, she is traveling, writing, or kayaking with her dog, Bear.
Disclaimer: This article does not contain sponsored or affiliate links. I receive no compensation from this article.
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