whenever i can work up the motivation to go for a walk, it is a Good Thing. the mix of the fresh air, the solitude, the sunshine, the single focus, the exercise, and the fact i listen to my favourite songs on my ipod - it clears my head as well as making me feel physically better.

but working up the motivation to go for a walk is hard. not because i don’t enjoy it - because 9 times out of 10 i really do - but because there’s always something *fun* i could be doing, like playing computer games, or catching up on the websites i read, or watching a movie - something that doesn’t require moving. and while i enjoy going for a walk, i wouldn’t necessarily describe it as fun.

plus - and i can admit it - i am a Lazy Person.

something else i’ve always had trouble with is, for me, walking has always been about _getting somewhere_. never before in my life have i been interested in walking “just because” - it’s only the last couple of years that i have started doing this, and i think it’s got a bit to do with the fact that before moving to our current apartment building, i had to walk further / more often to get around, so i didn’t have to motivate myself especially to get a particular result.

so sometimes i still have to convince myself it is worth it and i will enjoy it, and not to listen to the very old voice inside my head that says it’s a waste of time.

but the best thing about geting out and going for walks is that i listen to my ipod. i hate walking anywhere by myself without listening to my music. it’s so boring.

for me, the best songs to listen to when going for a walk are ones that are musically upbeat / kinda fast, something that you can sort of walk in time with and be really moving. and it has to be something i can lose myself in, otherwise i start looking around and losing myself in random thoughts, like “i wonder how many people live there” and “i wonder if they have any dogs, or cats, or … oh is that a rabbit hutch? “. that is really distracting and then i start dawdling, which is no good for anything.

some of the songs i listen to, when walking:

In This Together - Apoptygma Berzerk
Shimmer - Fuel
Slide - Goo Goo Dolls
Like You Madly - Just Jinger
Breaking the Habit - Linkin Park
Bring The Noise - Public Enemy w/ Anthrax
Infest - Papa Roach
Timekiller - Project Pitchfork

title from Cesspools in Eden by Dead Kennedys