Get Outside: The Quick Fix You're Looking for is Closer Than You Think

One of my coaching clients recently told me that life in general is so distracting, so busy and so intense that she doesn't know how to relax. I asked her to describe what happens in a day, a week, and a month. I won’t list everything that she listed, but what I will tell you is that she is buried in her phone, computer, meetings, and taking kids to where they need to be all day long, every single day. Even her workouts at the gym are precisely timed to maximize her workout while minimizing her time spent. So, here was my great advice (well at least part of it) that I charge a lot of money for (kidding!). Are you ready?

I told her to take a walk.

As we step into summer, many of us take steps into the great outdoors to enjoy God’s creation in the warm sunlight of the season. Some take walks up mountain pathways, others will walk to the edge of a canyon or the top of a gushing waterfall. But it doesn’t have to be that dramatic to be spectacular. We have a walking path behind our home that bends down around a rushing creek, and the banks are surrounded by wildflowers. I also enjoy just sitting out on our porch listening to the birds chirping and watching them come to the feeders. I enjoy seeing billowing clouds in the sky as I drive to or from my office, and an amazing sunset or sunrise is also very pleasing! I enjoy seeing the lilies and the daisies in people’s yards as I walk around the block. I don’t have to fly to Florida and spend a week on the beach to see this beauty. However, that is not bad either!

The Psalmist wrote, "As the mountains surround Jerusalem, so the Lord surrounds his people.” So just as the great outdoors surrounds us with beauty, we are surrounded by God’s love. In another Psalm it says, "Mountains and hills; fruitful tress and all cedars… let them praise the name of the Lord, for his name alone is exalted and supreme; His glory and majesty are above earth and heaven.” But if we don’t intentionally look for it, we will miss it!

We have to take time to enjoy the birds, flowers, stars, leaves, plants, skies, hills, mountains, streams, etc. that He has made. John Calvin said, “The world was no doubt made, that it might be the theater of divine glory." Scripture tells us that God’s invisible power and glorious attributes can be seen in what He has made. It also tells us to consider the lilies of the field and how they grow. We should praise God and know that if He cares for His great outdoors, He will also care for us.

But we should do this year-round, not just in the summer. In the middle of a hectic day at the office step outside, take a walk, sit at the window and view the scenery. Watch beautiful snowfall or even a torrential rainstorm. Watch the geese swim across the pond—they seem to be everywhere!

Neuroscience suggests that spending time in nature can affect the brain in ways that support attention, stress regulation, mood, and even social connection. While researchers are still working out the precise mechanisms, several findings have been replicated across studies.

Exposure to natural environments is associated with lower activity in physiological stress systems. Studies have found reductions in stress hormones such as cortisol, lower heart rate, and changes in brain activity linked to emotional regulation after time spent in green spaces. Brain imaging research has also shown that walking in natural settings can reduce activity in regions associated with repetitive negative thinking, particularly parts of the brain involved in self-focused rumination, such as the prefrontal cortex.

One influential framework is the scientific concept of Attention Restoration Theory. The idea is that natural environments engage attention in a gentle, effortless way ("soft fascination"), allowing the brain's more effortful attention systems to recover from mental fatigue.

Research has found that after spending time in natural settings, people often perform better on tasks involving working memory, focus, and cognitive flexibility. Thus, nature exposure is associated with:

• Reduced anxiety

• Improved mood

• Lower perceived stress

God knows all this because He created it and Scripture talks about neuroscience well before any neuroscientist reported it. Scripture says, "Set your mind on things that are above, not on the things that are in the world. It says do not conform to the patterns of this world but be transformed by the renewing of your mind."

What's the easiest way to renew the mind? Just take a walk.