The Pleasure of Strolling

"An early-morning walk is a blessing for the whole day." — Henry David Thoreau

As most of you know, I live in Lisbon, Portugal. A city known for its history, narrow streets, and colourful tiles. It has around 500,000 inhabitants — not too many for an European capital. I like it because you can walk anywhere — despite the seven hills that shape its urban landscape. Many European cities share this trait: pedestrians come first; cars, second.

Chiado, Lisbon.

Though there are exceptions, the rest of the world prizes cars. Everything revolves around cars. Outside of Europe, walking is an inefficient means of transportation. Cities don’t optimise their infrastructure for it, nor do they care about aesthetics. Function reigns over form. People need to move around fast, lest they waste their precious time to produce goods.

Fresh air for your brain

Steve Jobs and Jony Ive were close friends. One of their favourite activities was strolling together. They agreed on the design of the iMac G4 while walking around a flower garden. Walking together was their preferred setting to dream up new ideas.

“Taking a long walk was his (Jobs’) preferred way to have a serious conversation.” — reveals Walter Isaacson, his biographer.

“Much of the design process is a conversation, a back-and-forth as we [Jobs and Ive] walk around the tables and play with the models” — Ive told Isaacson

Jobs believed his most creative ideas came when he was walking.

And he was right.

When walking, you observe, but don’t judge. You get lost in thought and, suddenly, an elusive idea finds you. This goes beyond a beautiful metaphor. A Standford study found that walking indoors or outdoors boosted creative inspiration. The act of walking itself, and not the environment, was the main factor. Across the board, walkers outperformed couch potatos in creative output.

The benefits are not limited to creativity though. Regular walking improves overall cognitive function, including enhanced memory, attention, and problem-solving skills. Studies have shown that walking increases blood flow to the brain. This releases hormones that promote the growth of new neurons.

Dynamic meditation

You can do walking meditation. Sitting for a long time without doing anything is challenging. For this reason, mindfulness comes in the shape of walking too. But I’m not going to talk about this kind of meditation — it’s boring. Tchaikovsky understood better the kind of meditation I’m referring to. His piece — Souvenir d’un lien cher — evokes memories from a cherished place for the composer. The first work from this opus is called Méditation. Speaking French was a status symbol in Russia back in the 19th century.

I guess Tchaikovsky was inspired by a place he loved. He focused on the memories he held from it and tried to translate them into music. The smell, the light, the sounds he heard, the people he saw. That place was real, but the version he pictured in his mind was different. When we recall something we tinge it with the emotions we felt at that moment. Memories are to videos what painting is to photography. The only way to remember your past and envision your future is by freeing up your present. Long walks offer a great opportunity for that.

But there’s more. Walking enables aesthetic contemplation. When was the last time you marvelled at a lush garden or cried out of beauty? The world is sublime and our lives too hectic to appreciate it. This is a recurring need for me. My main focus is making money without giving away my time. But it’s inevitable to invest some time. Oftentimes I realise that, in the process, my aesthetic appetites are left unmet. Listening to Mahler, contemplating historic buildings, or wandering in the mountains... Walking is the best way to do those things.

Keeps the doctor away

Walking is a low-impact exercise that improves cardiovascular health. It also strengthens muscles, and helps you maintain a healthy weight. Besides that, it can lower blood pressure and help you stay in shape. It’s gentle on the joints and can help improve flexibility.

According to Andrew Huberman, going for a walk in the morning is a great way to start the day:

Almost immediately after starting this morning walk practice, which for me ranges from 10 to 30 minutes, I started seeing results. I felt more awake and alert immediately after the walk, and, to be frank, happier and less grumpy.

Studies have shown that walking results in better sleep quality and duration. It regulates sleep patterns and promotes relaxation, which leads to more restful nights. But the reason Huberman recommends it in the morning is because it exposes you to sunlight. Basking in the sun while walking in the morning tells your body it’s time to start the day. As a result, it increases your energy levels and helps you fall asleep faster at night.

Walking with someone improves social and professional connections. According to this article by The CEO Magazine:

Walking together promotes informal communication by putting our brains in a more relaxed atmosphere, which creates open conversations and free-flowing thoughts. It helps break down barriers and hierarchies between individuals, teams and departments, providing opportunities for team members to share ideas and perspectives in a non-threatening environment. As a famous Sanskrit Proverb notes: “People who walk together, talk together”.

On top of that, it makes you live longer. The risk of dying from any cause plummets with every 500 to 1000 extra steps you walk.

As you can see, there are a number of benefits to walking. Cognitive, emotional, and physical. It’s an amazing habit you can build to make better decisions and accumulate wealth.

Do you like walking?

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Photo of the week

Monsanto, Lisbon. A great place to walk.