A simple activity like a walk in the park can turn into a magical experience with one easy change to your lifestyle.
We're not talking about anything in particular (although you know that we represent the barefoot enjoyers). We're talking about small steps you can take to enhance or subtract to your life. These are called atomic habits, and the term was coined by some guy that wrote a book about it.
The idea of atomic habits is about tiny, imperceptible changes to your daily routine that have a massive compounding effect over time. Just like one invisible atom can turn into a Netflix documentary, your life can become your biggest dream in a matter of some time by only changing a habit that you do daily.
Think about brushing your teeth. Now imagine you stopped brushing them today. Some of you might be internally screaming in horror at the idea, some of you might actually wonder, what would happen? Short answer, all your teeth will fall out 😈 Seriously though, brushing your teeth takes about 5 minutes. Just 5 minutes of your time. Yet, this act alone massively improves your life. No cavities, no dark spots, no bad breath! When you smile you feel confident and attractive. That's the power of habitual compounding.
At school they teach us about compound interest. That's the common way for us to understand what I'm talking about here. Saving and investing are two of the best ways to compound interest, and over a long period of your life, you will have accumulated a great amount of money. This is not just theory, this is how it works, if you actually do it. Doing it is key, it's the catalyst to make it work.
A walk in the park can also turn into an atomic habit, rather YOU can turn this walk into an atomic habit. Before we continue, I want to mention that I don't do this myself, so take what I'm about to say with a pinch of salt (or however the saying goes). If you even just walk for 20 minutes a week, exposed to the morning sunshine , the fresh air, and the beautiful environment (unless you're in Brum), after a few years your life will change significantly. After 20 years, your life will be so different that you won't even recognise yourself. And that's a positive. A big fat YES! What kind of changes are you talking about, do you ask? I don't know, again I don't do it, I'm preaching in vain at this point.
I'll tell you about one of these atomic habits that really did drastically improve my life. You can think of what you want about Jordan Peterson, but if your life is in shambles and you can't even be bothered to go downstairs to have dinner, then he's the guy for the job. One advice that he gave me and everyone else watching, was to do your bed in the morning. How can that be of any help?? Well, as a scientist myself I decided to test it out. Turns out doing my bed every morning is actually very easy, and it takes me a minute. This advice was HUGE for my life. It's a small win, but a win nonetheless. The room looks cleaner first of all, and the best thing of all, this daily act has changed me as a person. It's almost like it made my thoughts and emotions clearer, more organised, better. It's simply proof that a tiny change in your lifestyle can turn you into an unstoppable force of nature.
Swapping out my ole traditional trainers for barefoot shoes has also become one of my favourite atomic habits. And this is a change about what I wear. It's like how you can go to a fancy restaurant in joggers and a hoodie, and the server politely shows you the door. Whereas if you wear your best dress or suit and you show up, boom here you have the same server escorting you to the best table at the venue. It's magical how your clothing makes you. It's the same way with shoes. But zero drop, wide toe footwear is not only a gamechanger in appearances, it also affects your own performative experience very much.
If you also made this change, you probably went from not giving many sh*** about how you walk, to become very aware of every step you take. And not because people are looking at you, and you're embarrassed you're moving funny. Because with a pair of barefoots you're feeling the texture of the ground, your toes are free to dance around and spread out like wings, no more toys to fidget with when you're bored, just wiggle them little ones like antennas. Some of you might even tell me that your forefoot has gotten so strong that you can step and push forward with it. Kind of like a jaguar, you propel yourself forward with your toes, and with POWER.
Maybe a walk in the park every day or every week may not be possible for you (yet!), but you've gotta start small. A new haircut, a new hobby, a new pair of sandals 😉😉... These are things that have a massive effect on your life and you may not even realise it, you may not even notice it at the start. You may call it bullsh/t, just like the flat earthers did to Galileo in the 1600s.