Feeling stressed? Frustrated? Anxious? Angry? Impatient? Or maybe you just need a moment to reflect and refuel? Do you need inspiration? Taking a walk is one of the best ways to get that energy out. Walking can work miracles. Really.

During some of the toughest situations in my life, I have gone walking. Sometimes it was as simple as getting up from my desk at work, and walking around the building to vent a crazy situation with a boss. Other times, it was walking around my neighborhood just to get some time to myself or let off some steam. My walks range from 10 minutes…and in tough times, even two hours. Sometimes to rejuvenate, sometimes to work out a situation…whatever it is, and sometimes, purely for exercise (because I now crave it!).

There is nothing like fresh air and a fresh perspective to clear your head. It allows you to release pent up energy and gives you time to reflect. You can ask yourself (and your Maker) tough questions and truly get answers. It can divert the urge to spend needlessly (retail therapy) and can dramatically increase your focus. Some of the toughest problems have been solved, incredible inspirations received, and amazing sights have been seen, all while hoofing it around the neighborhood.

If you’re not convinced, consider a few quotes from people who agree:

• If you are seeking creative ideas, go out walking.  Angels whisper to a man when he goes for a walk.  ~Raymond Inmon
• A vigorous five-mile walk will do more good for an unhappy but otherwise healthy adult than all the medicine and psychology in the world.  ~Paul Dudley White
• I only went out for a walk and finally concluded to stay out till sundown, for going out, I found, was really going in.  ~John Muir, 1913, in L.M. Wolfe, ed., John Muir, John of the Mountains: The Unpublished Journals of John Muir, 1938
• Me thinks that the moment my legs begin to move, my thoughts begin to flow.  ~Henry David Thoreau
• Above all, do not lose your desire to walk.  Every day I walk myself into a state of well-being and walk away from every illness.  I have walked myself into my best thoughts, and I know of no thought so burdensome that one cannot walk away from it.  ~Soren Kierkegaard
• Nothing like a nighttime stroll to give you ideas.  ~J.K. Rowling, “The Egg and The Eye,” Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, 2000, spoken by the character Mad-Eye Moody

And did I mention it’s good for your heart? ;-) When do you walk?