Whenever I hike or ride my bicycle, I always have a learning device on my hip.
Me with the Sunrise in the Background
What does that mean? You’ll notice in most of my pictures I have some wires coming out of my ears. I don’t have music playing on my Ipod, it is spoken word. Time spent hiking can be used to enrich our minds, help us become better individuals, be more successful, learn, get motivated, get out of debt, the possibilities are nearly endless.
Sure music is awesome and it can help us keep our pace while exercising or power up the hill or go that extra mile.
Silence is wonderful too. You can have a great time just listening to your footsteps, meditating on the go, think about solving your life’s problems or just talking to your husband or wife or hiking partner.
You can also grow your mind. I love learning and growing as I exercise. Here’s how I do it, maybe these ideas will help:
- You need a playback device. An Ipod is, technically, the easiest to get FREE content that can bring your mind alive.
- Get content. The Itunes store has thousands of podcasts that are FREE and the subject matter is almost limitless. There is also an audio university with free lectures. If you really like audio books, you can subscribe to Audible.com (not free)
- Plug in your headphone(s) and go! I just use one ear so I can still hear the sounds around me.
I listen to many different things: Dave Ramsey (financial management/Entreleadership), Dan Miller (48 Days to the Work You Love), The Nursing Show, Emergency Nursing Today, Nightingale/Conant, Zig Ziglar Inspire Podcast, Scriptures, Digital SLR podcasts (photography), and self-improvement/motivational non-fiction books. All the items I list here are free, except for the audio books.
It has been said that a year from now, we are the same person except for the books we read and the people we meet. Some people say reading (or listening) to books on a certain subject can make you an expert if you ingest enough information.
Your “Hiking University” has the opportunity to bring great fulfillment and increased satisfaction to your life. I’m not saying you have to turn off your Pink or Susan Boyle or Tubes or whatever flavor of music you like. Maybe just rotate every other day or do music up the mountain and spoken word on the way down.
You can grow, learn, get excited, get ideas, improve, solve problems, get a job, get a better job, your opportunities await! Go get ’em!