I Go on a Hike When I’m Stressed
Ashley: If I’m really stressed out about something, I usually try to take a quick hike up the mountain.
Ashley: There’s one about five minutes from my house that takes around two hours going up and two hours going down.
Ashley: I don’t usually have that much time, but I’ll get a good start and get high enough to get the kind of view that I need of the city just to chill me out.
Ashley: I guess it’s because looking down on things from any kind of higher vantage point helps me keep perspective.
Ashley: All our problems are actually quite pointless because we’re really just irrelevant tiny human beings in the grand scheme of things.
Ashley: So when I remember that, my stress just kind of disappears. Also, being out in nature is kind of a release.
Ashley: It’s a reminder that life doesn’t have to be so crazy. Society is crazy, life isn’t really crazy. We do that to ourselves to a certain degree.
Ashley: And finally, since hiking is a form of physical exercise, a way to get the blood pumping, it also has a positive, counteractive effect to any tension I might be feeling.
Ashley: So really I find hiking to be hugely beneficial to reducing my stress.
Vocabulary:
chill me out – to calm down, relax, or reduce feelings of stress and anxiety, “Listening to instrumental music after a chaotic day at work always helps to chill me out.”
higher vantage point – an elevated position, place, or angle that gives a wide and clear view of the surrounding area, “Climbing to the top of the lighthouse provided a higher vantage point to watch the ships enter the harbor.”
keep perspective – to maintain a realistic and balanced understanding of what is truly important, rather than overreacting to minor problems, “Whenever I get frustrated by traffic, I try to keep perspective and remember that it is just a small delay.”
in the grand scheme of things – looking at the biggest possible picture or considering everything over a long period of time, “Spilling a cup of coffee is annoying, but in the grand scheme of things, it really doesn’t matter.”
to a certain degree – partly, up to a point, or to some extent, “I understand why she made that decision to a certain degree, but I still think there were better options available.”
get the blood pumping – to engage in physical exercise or an exciting activity that increases your heart rate and makes you feel energized, “Doing twenty jumping jacks in the morning is a fantastic way to wake up and get the blood pumping.”