Want To Walk Everyday? My 5 Top Tips To Stay Motivated

In October 2022 I committed to walking every day. 5 months later and I’m still a daily walker. Do I always feel like it? No! So how do I keep motivated? Today I’m sharing my 5 top tips to keep you on track, no matter what your goal.

So imagine this. It’s 7am, time for my morning walk and I am tired. Entirely my fault. I’ve been burning the candle at both ends with work and projects. I need to get more sleep! Then I switch the radio on: it’s going to rain all day. So I’m like, “Ah, okay. I’m tired, and it’s rainy. I don’t want to go on a walk.” And it will be so easy for me to just to think, “You know what? I have got lots to do anyway, how about I just don’t go today. And I’ll do an extra long walk tomorrow.”  Sounds reasonable, right? 

But the problem is, when I do that, when I make a commitment and I let it go one day, it’s so easy to let it go two days. And then three days and then before you know it, I’m not doing it anymore. I’ve let that commitment go. Sound familiar? And then comes more justification. “Ah well, it doesn’t matter in the grand scheme of things” or “Maybe that just wasn’t right for me.”  Which frankly is BS!  Sure, nothing matters in the grand scheme of things. We’re just a dot in the universe. But the point is, we’re our dot in the universe and we do matter. And I don’t know about you, but when I make a commitment, and then I don’t follow through I get a yucky feeling in my stomach: part disappointment, part frustration, part sadness at not seeing my dream come true. And I wonder “Am I the kind of person who can’t follow through? Will I never be able to follow through on anything? I guess I haven’t got what it takes.” To make a commitment, to be really enthusiastic and then not to follow through: it’s disempowering. 

So what do I do when the negative voice of resistance shouts in my head, “I don’t want to, what’s the point, you’ll never make it.” Here are my top tips:

Whatever the goal you’re working towards, it’s going to be a lot more difficult to ride the ups and downs of the journey if you’re tired, undernourished and stressed. So do yourself a favour. Have a look at your lifestyle. Are you getting your 8 hours of sleep? Are you eating your rainbow of fruits and vegetables? Do you have a daily relaxation practice in your life like meditation, having a home spa bath or (my relaxation of choice) a daily walk? I take my wellbeing seriously: it’s the foundation for my life. And when I ignore it, like not getting enough sleep, I notice life gets a whole lot harder. So give your brain and body the love and care it deserves.

When you’re having an, “I don’t want to” day, take a moment to remember why you made this commitment in the first place. When I made my commitment to daily walking there was a very definite push factor which was the backache and sciatica I experienced due to a sedentary, desk based working-from-home life. The sciatica would come like clockwork, about once every six weeks. Sometimes there were times when, if I needed to get up in the night to go to the loo, the sciatica was so painful I would crawl. No exaggeration, I would crawl to the loo. So that’s a pretty big push factor. Since walking everyday, I’ve had no back pain and only a few sciatica twinges after a long day at my desk. When I think about not taking my daily walk I think “Do you want to go back to crawling to the loo?” That gets me out of the house!

I have a second big ‘Why’. I’ve created a 3202 Miles In 2023 Challenge to raise £3202  for the Alzheimer’s Society, in honour of my Mum who has dementia. It’s a lot of miles. But I don’t want to let down my Mum: I will raise that money and I will complete my target.  So if you’ve set a goal, ask yourself how can you make it bigger than you? Maybe you’re walking to improve your health so you can play with your grandchildren more. Maybe you’re walking with a friend to help improve her mental wellbeing. You get the picture.  Make it bigger than you: no-one wants to let down the peopl they love. PS. If anyone would like to donate to my fundraising for the Alzheimer’s Society, the link to my Just Giving Page is in the QR code at the bottom of this blog.

The wonderful thing about walking is that you are outdoors. Whether it’s your local park or open space, or whether like me, you’re lucky enough to be able to walk out in the countryside, you’re outside in nature. And that means weather! Walking everyday I’ve experienced below zero, torrential rain, beautiful crystal clear sunny days and everything in between. And that could have put me off. Except that I’m prepared with clothes and boots that keep me warm and dry. Waterproof trousers, waterproof jacket, woolly hat, gloves, hiking boots, merino thermals; they all sit in a box next to my front door so there’s no excuse not to get out in that weather.

Walking is a great time for reflection . But sometimes you don’t want to be with your thoughts. And that’s fine. So in those times, what I do is I take my earphones with me. I might listen to a podcast, music or an audio book.  Whatever it is, once I’m plugged in I don’t notice I’m walking. It just becomes a great opportunity to catch up on all that stuff you’ve been meaning to listen to. 

Hey, you can even tune into the FeelGoodWalk Podcast every Wednesday. 

So there you have it, my 5 top tips. And the key to really making them work for you is to have them all ready, like your own personal Rescue Remedy kit.  Don’t wait for the “I don’t want to do it,” moment to strike. Have everything ready in advance. Your podcasts and playlists are  downloaded on your phone,  your headphones are charged, your clothes to keep you warm and dry are all in one place. Just keep it all ready. I also have reminders all over my house. Post it notes are stuck on my fridge that say  “I walk so that I don’t get backache,” and “I’m walking to cure dementia”. Then when resistance strikes I’m prepared. I can look at my post it notes to remind myself why I’m doing this. I can look forward to listening to my favourite podcast, I can get dressed up all warm and dry.  Now I can flip that resistance to enthusiasm. I get out there, do my walk, and feel proud of myself. You can too!

So what happened on that day when I didn’t want to do my daily walk? Well, I go out and at first my legs feel heavy. I still don’t want to be there! But I get to the top of my favourite hill and the larks are singing all around me, a sound that always gives me a sense of freedom and joy.  The first small daffodils are out and the rain is gently pitter pattering. It’s misty and beautiful and I’m loving it. Then I spot a little copse in a valley that I’ve passed many times but never explored. It seems today is the day and I head off to take a look. I find beautiful silver birch, oak and sycamore trees and several badger sets that I want to come back and explore in the evening: maybe I’ll see tha badgers! I’m so glad I came out. It has been a magical walk.

You can donate to my Just Giving Page and help fund research into dementia. Every penny goes straight to The Alzheimer’s Society. Thank you for your generosity.