WHY SNOWSHOE?

Before daylight, coming late in winter months and leaving much earlier, one may look at the effort to put snowshoes on their feet to head out the door and think, “This is too much work. I’ll go to the gym and use the treadmill.” That’s not illegal or anything like that, and many train hard on treadmills; good for them.

However, snowshoeing stokes your dreaming process as hills and dales go by, with your body covering the distance, as your mind feeds thoughts to that gray matter above those shoulders, the ones that keep you upright with a robust skeletal system.

What that gray matter can do with those thoughts is often fantastical. You’ll think, for example, “I’ll never get that house bought.” If you’re expecting great gobs of dollars to fall suddenly into your pocket to fund the deal, you are right; you won’t get that house bought.

Rather than question oneself, ask, “How do I get that house bought?” That brings positivity to creative thinking, opening your mind to ideas that might
work for you. You can now calculate your income stream while galloping along beautiful trails with vistas that help expand your thinking. Maybe you need more income; ask yourself how to accomplish that outcome.

Whatever you need to solve in life’s questions, ask the important person: yourself.

Maybe your current position doesn’t pay you enough; it never will. Your mind can think about that and, if asked, possibly assist you in figuring out what you need, plus giving you a boost; again, if you ask, where can you go to accomplish that goal?

Now, five miles covered with beautiful winter vista scenes around you, you may or may not have clues while your head begins to spin. Don’t give up on a dream just because you didn’t get it all figured out quickly.

Instead, use Thomas Edison’s approach with the light bulb: “I haven’t failed . . . I’ve just found 10,000 ways that won’t work.” (1)

He dreamed bigger…bigger.

And you’ve covered another mile or two.

When you return to snowshoeing again at the trailhead or any other location, ask yourself the question again, whatever the question is.

Perhaps you have new ones, so go ahead and think about them. What happens is that some answers may present themselves regarding your original question in this whole process, giving you direction and motivation.

These processes, talking to yourself while snowshoeing, utilize those endorphins that are now stirring around your body and head, all working in your favor as you make your way. Answers, motivations, solutions, and insights all will pop up in your mind if you only let them.

I am an example of this process, and I know it works. I’ve used it since I recognized something gave me ideas and answers when I had none; it began on snowshoes and continued with trail and road running shoes. Articles, books, and insights occurred to me in the mountains, woods, trails, and roads. The endorphins showed up; I got information from them.

Edison’s “ . . . secret to success—as true in Edison’s time as it is today—is perseverance. As Edison himself said, ‘Genius is 1% inspiration and 99% perspiration.’”(2)

Maybe he was on to something . . . .

(1) and (2): SIGNIFY (World leader in lighting for professionals, consumers, and lighting for the Internet of Things) www.Signify.com/global