3 . Walking has been considered as one of the best possible exercises. For many people, daily walking offers many and long-term physical and mental benefits.     1     A Stanford University study found that participants were more creative when walking as opposed to sitting.    2    You’ve probably heard the phrase “exercise your innovation (创新)”. Our creative mindset is caused by physical movement, which is exactly why walking with your dog, a friend, or alone feeds creative thinking.

But the scenery is almost as important as the sweat. Just by going outside, you are stepping out of your habitual surroundings and your comfort zone, which is necessary if you want to open your mind to new possibilities. You can walk through a tree-filled neighborhood.     3    

Walking outside develops our ability to collect new ideas and take in new sights, sounds, smells, and flavors. Shinrin-yoku, a common form of relaxation in Japan, suggests that being in the forest and walking among the trees there can lower your stress levels    4     Research has shown that immersion (沉浸) in nature around your neighborhood or the disconnection from multimedia increased performance on a creative problem-solving task.

So instead of setting a fitness goal, why not set a creativity goal that starts with walking outdoors?     5     For example, you can turn off your phone and give yourself the chance to be present in the world, to hear conversations and natural sounds, and to notice the way people move and the way the sun reflects in a lake.

Walk not just for exercise. Walk for wonder.

I was never a fast runner and thus I always didn’t like running. Throughout my childhood, whenever we competed in the 50-meter run, the 400-meter, or any other type of race, I would always end up with the last one among all the athletes. Therefore, twenty years later, when I entered into my first official running race—a 3,000-meter challenge in my city—at age 38, I certainly didn’t expect to win or earn any prize.

I learned about the race from my friend Jim. He told me that the race was aimed at raising money for the unfortunate patients in a hospital and encouraging the patients and their families to be brave. Since it was a heartwarming program, I showed up, paid the entrance fee and moved over to the starting line. Before long, someone spoke into a microphone. “Anyone weighing over 200 pounds comes down to the scale (秤), please.” Knowing I was over 200 pounds, I walked down to the scale: A man told me to stand on it. “Two hundred and three pounds,” he said. Then he wrote down the race number and pinned (把……别在) it on my back. Out of curiosity, I asked him why he did so, and then I was told there would be an award ceremony (仪式) after the race. One award was for the first finisher in the over 200-pound group, and this special award would be announced at the end of the ceremony.

Then started the race. Not realizing there were only two runners weighing over 200 pounds, I gathered all my strength to run in my burning heat. Although other runners gradually passed me along the way, I kept moving forward as fast as I could and struggled to make it to the finish line. Despite the tiredness, I was satisfied, for I could try my best to help those in need by running. Shortly after the race, the award ceremony began and several awards were presented.