In March of this year, my husband and I challenged ourselves to take a 45-minute outdoor walk every day for 75 days. We committed to taking our daily walk regardless of the weather, our schedules, or how we felt. These walks changed us more than just physically. They changed our lives as a whole.

At the beginning of this challenge, we felt both excited and nervous because seventy-five days felt like an eternity. We hadn’t been walking consistently prior to this, but it wasn’t the physical exercise we were nervous about. We were nervous about our ability to keep a commitment to ourselves for this many days in a row. We were worried it wouldn’t work with our busy schedules. We were nervous it would be too cold, too rainy, or keep us sick if we weren’t feeling well. But reality showed none of these things would be true.

Our 75 walks looked very different from one another. We took many walks in the snow, pouring rain, and even one in a severe thunderstorm. We took quite a few walks at midnight, at least 10 in a local school parking lot with lights, and walked up and down a small section of our road hundreds of times. 

Many of our walks were beautiful. We walked down by the Bashakill wetlands, in the mountains in Colorado, on a road trip back from Tennessee, around parks on Cayuga lake, and through many state and national parks. We took quite a few walks with our dogs, some with friends, and even some alone when our schedules didn’t align. 

These walks turned out to be my favorite part of the day. If a day or two went by when I had to go on my walk alone, I missed this time I got to connect with my husband. We left our phones at home when we walked together. This gave us 45 uninterrupted minutes each day to talk, dream, and connect on a deeper level. You don’t realize how little you actually get to connect with the people close to you until you intentionally take time out of your day with no distractions. 

We would talk about our day, how we were feeling, things we were excited about, and support each other through problems we were facing. Sometimes we would cry, there were usually laughs, and we were always fully present with nature around us. Our walks sparked creativity and we’d often leave with a new business idea, plans to explore somewhere new, deeper support for one another, and a clearer understanding of what we want our future to look like. 

When we were feeling any tension in our relationship, we used our time walking to dive deep into the roots of the feelings we were experiencing, listen to one another, and come up with solutions. We value choosing the hard option now to make life easier in the future, and these walks took facing our problems to a whole new level. We were unable to turn the other way while spending this much uninterrupted time together.

This commitment showed us how much we are capable of, that we don’t need to be afraid of a little rain, and that we can do so much more than our brains try to convince us we can. It taught us that with discipline and commitment, we truly can become a whole new person in 75 days. It gave us a level of energy we have never experienced before and we were quickly craving this outdoor physical activity. Even today, 140 days later, I don’t feel my best if I don’t spend time outside. 

I hope this story inspires you to challenge yourself to do something you aren’t sure you’re capable of, even if it’s as simple as walking every day. The simplest changes in our lives usually make the biggest impact. Send me an email at maggi@calofitnessllc.com with what you’re challenging yourself to do.

Xoxo

Coach Maggi