Before I had a solution to anything, I had a walk.

I have solved arguments, untangled creative blocks, talked myself out of bad decisions, and arrived at some of my best ideas — all while walking. There is something about the rhythm of it, the gentle forward motion, the world moving past at a pace the brain can actually process, that unsticks whatever has gotten stuck.

Neuroscience backs this up. Walking increases blood flow to the prefrontal cortex — the part of the brain involved in creative thinking and problem-solving. Stanford researchers found that walking boosts creative output by an average of 60%. Sixty percent. From walking.

But even setting aside the science, there’s something philosophically right about it. Some of history’s greatest thinkers were obsessive walkers — Nietzsche, Wordsworth, Darwin, Dickens. Thoreau wrote an entire essay about it. Kierkegaard reportedly walked himself into his best ideas and out of his darkest moods.

Walking is not exercise dressed down. It is a practice. A moving meditation for people who can’t sit still. A way of being in your body and out of your head at the same time.

When you don’t know what to do next — walk. Not to get anywhere. Just to move. The answer usually shows up somewhere around the second mile.