A self-coaching walk

it worked! I had a breakthrough :')

Hello you,

What’s new this week?

Guess what? I had an idea!

Okay, not exactly big news as I’ve never had an issue with ideas. I already have more than I could action in a lifetime.

But I’m excited about this new one! I would love to tell you more about it soon. (Ooh she’s a cryptic one)

Even though I’ve written about a whooole different thing I was going to tell you about today, I just had to remind you about this thing called…

Going for a walk.

How many times have we creative types heard that advice?

Stuck on something? - go for a walk

Need ideas for your novel? - go for a walk

Existential crisis? - go for a walk

I actually gave it a whirl yesterday because my head’s been rather tangled up.

I’ve been thinking a lot about pivoting somehow in my freelance work, which I’ve fortunately done and loved for five years. I mainly focus on copywriting and I do this alongside my part-time work for a charity.

I’m at the *frozen* stage. Notebooks full of options and a head full of ‘could dos’. But nothing seems right. Nothing seems quite ‘me’. (And I’m pretty much too shit-scared to try any of them too.)

I’m hoping to invest in some coaching soon but my good pal reminded me the other day.

“Usually the answers are in here,” she said, pointing to her heart.

Darn it! I know I have the wisdom in there somewhere. Deep down. Deep deep down. But, how to coax it out?

Hello? Ideas? Are you out there?

What I did;

1. Found some businessy idea journal prompts online here and here

2. Scribbled them out onto a scrap of paper

3. Made a brew in a takeaway cup

4. Drove five mins to one of my favourite picturesque spots (where there also tends to be minimal other people)

5. Pressed record on otter.ai

6. Started walking and chatting to myself, asking myself the questions and seeing what came out of my gob

Ngl it was a great walk/coaching session.

I don’t know what it is, but the things that were coming out of me when speaking aloud and moving my body were different to what comes out when I write silently in a notepad. (Those Stanford people were right! And apparently we don’t even need to go outside. Walking/ moving around indoors, on a treadmill or at home can work too.)

And then, towards the end of my clomp. BINGO! The idea. It must have always been in there but it bubbled up to the surface and popped out of me.

“That’s a cool idea. That’s a cool idea! Yeah, that’s something I could do.” Were my exact words according to the otter transcript.

I was even dreaming about it last night! My subconscious is ON IT.

So, that oft-parroted advice about going for a walk?

It works.

I thought if I write it down, maybe I’ll remember next time!

Have you ever had a breakthrough on a walk? I’d love to hear about it.

And, if not. This is an invitation to try it.

Janelle x