Silent Walking: Listening to Your Inner Voice Can Change Your Life
Silent walking meaning: The silent walking trend has gained popularity on TikTok. It urges individuals to remove their headphones and take a quiet walk - one with no music, podcasts, audio books, or any other distractions.
I discovered the benefits of silent walking long before it became popular. Being in the present moment while moving forward on my walk encourages mental health benefits including mindfulness and well-being and helps me fulfill my personal and professional goals.
I’ve never been much of an exercise fan. While I don't mind sweating, I would rather lift weights than hop on a treadmill, an elliptical machine, or take a Zumba class. I have been overweight for most of my life, yo-yo dieting for decades.
At one point, I lost 100 pounds. I practically lived at the gym and took up running—something I no longer do as my knees keep reminding me I’m getting older.
I like to walk outdoors. The New England Spring welcomes the sun with the anticipation of warmer days to come.
The Fall brings crisp air and beautiful colored leaves to enjoy.
Hot Summer days demand that I start my walks as soon as the sun peaks over the horizon to ensure I get back home before the heat and humidity make their presence felt.
The Winter winds blow with a vengeance, and I attach crampons to my boots to prevent me from falling on the ice.
I have walked on and off for decades now. Initially, taking a portable cassette player, then a CD player, iPod, and finally a phone to entertain me. I frequently walk alone. Listening to fast, pulsing, and inspirational music helps me walk faster, strengthening my determination, and encouraging me to take the next step forward.
The other important point about walking outdoors is that however far you walk, you have to walk back. On a treadmill or elliptical machine, I can come up with any excuse to stop in mid-stride.
I have to go to the store.
I have to finish a work project.
I think my knee hurts.
I need a drink.
If you walk a mile from your home, you have to turn around and walk a mile back. You can't call someone and ask them to pick you up. Well, I guess you can, but even I wouldn't do that.
So, for years I've had my head down, bopping along to the music, walking mile after mile.
Over the last couple of years, my brother and I started walking together each time I visited him. Since this was the perfect opportunity to chat, I left the headphones home and only brought my phone to track our distance and calories burned.
I enjoy our conversations, but I've also come to enjoy the times we walk in silence, not saying anything to one another.
Now back at my home . . . I decide one day, as I lace up my sneakers and put my phone in my pocket, that although I am going to walk by myself, I won't bring the headphones. I like the walks with my brother and am intrigued to see if I will feel the same, walking alone with nothing to entertain me. Will I be bored and want to turn around after only a half mile?
I start walking.
The sun comes up around 5:00 AM in the Summer months. (Yes, I do walk that early.) It pokes through the trees that shelter me from the oncoming heat. The morning silence is palpable, broken only by chirping birds and automatic sprinkler systems watering the manicured lawns and flowerbeds I walk past.
I take note of a beautiful flowering bush I should consider adding to my yard, watch out for rabbits and deer searching for their breakfast, and assess the progress of the new housing development under construction. I walk the same country road every time—through the apple orchard, past the farm, and the old Colonial cemetery.
But something is different. There is no music playing in my head. No technology. No distraction. No noise.
It's quiet—quiet all around me. More importantly, it’s quiet in my head. I begin to think about my family—where we will take my mother for her birthday. Where we should go on our next vacation as COVID-19 travel restrictions become less and less onerous.
I think about my work—the new book I’m writing about women business owners, the presentation I have to give at an upcoming conference, and the podcast I’ve been invited to join to discuss the benefits of embracing change.
I think about where my life is and where it is going, what I really want to do professionally and personally, and the steps I can take today to get to where I want to be.
I've found silent walking’s hidden reward.
Walking - and now silent walking - is not about losing weight.
It's not about increasing endurance.
It's the positive thoughts and opportunities that come with being quiet and listening. Listening to our mind. Listening to our body. Listening to our dreams. Listening to our inner voice that tries to tell us what we need to hear, but the constant noise swirling around us prevents us from hearing it.
My walks are not quiet because I’m in the country. You can practice silent walking in the center of a big city. Being quiet means turning your focus inward, no matter where you are.
I practice silent walking to reconnect with that voice because I know when I get back home life takes over.
I run errands.
I respond to email.
I attend Zoom meetings.
I cook.
I do laundry.
I do everything but be quiet and listen.
Yes, walking helps me lose weight. Yes, my cardiovascular fitness is better, and my muscles are stronger. But silent walking helps me fulfill my personal and professional goals—by listening to my inner voice.
I challenge you to put down the phone, step away from the music, the podcast, and the audiobook, and be quiet. You'll be surprised at how much you hear from your inner voice and the opportunities they bring.
