FEELING GREAT: How taking a different route can give you peace of mind

Remember last week’s column? OK, it wasn’t about the sort of injuries we are regularly treating at the Paul Gough Physio Rooms – not that things have eased on that front as, with lockdown restrictions easing, we are busier than ever!
New route, new outlook.New route, new outlook.
New route, new outlook.

Instead, I told you about the idea of trying something new, a change of outlook, a chance to sample a different aspect on your regular day to day life.....

For starters, and this is the most simple of things, have you ever considered that driving to work (or anywhere you regularly go) a different way might add some sparkle to a mundane day - even if it takes longer to get there?

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Would getting up and setting off just a bit earlier be so bad if it meant you seeing some new sights or driving past a different set of people?

It might make you a little more alert by the time you got to work! It also might make for a whole new conversation at work when you get there.

Driving to work a different way is something I’ve encouraged people to do – my staff included. There’s Paul Gough Physio Rooms across the North East so there are many ways to get to wherever we all need to be and there are many scenic routes to Guisborough and Durham, Hartlepool and Darlington.

It’s a shame NOT to experiment with different ways to get there. Is there a better way to start a day than to see the sun come up over the sea?

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Admittedly some of these routes are shorter than others, but just doing a different one each day will offer something interesting and new to look at.

And here’s something else I speak about at work to my staff: switching the radio off whilst you drive and doing the journey in silence, no matter how far you’re travelling. When I first started doing this, it caused me some serious headaches. By the time the 30 minutes or so to whichever clinic I was driving to had passed, my head would be literally hurting from the tension caused by all the thinking I had to do.

This happens because when you’re not passively listening to the radio or yapping with a passenger, your brain actually has to do some thinking. And that’s NOT something it likes to do. Despite what you might think, our brains are actually lazy and really don’t like to do any of the thinking stuff.

It helps to understand this better when you realise that your brain is designed to get you from point A to point B in the quickest and safest possible way. That’s it. And if it thinks you’re not going the quickest way, the voice in your head will ask you why.

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For more tips and advice, get in touch for a FREE copy of my book The Healthy Habit. It is essential reading people aged 50+ in the North-East, and for anyone that would like to improve their own healthy habits. Please call 01429 866771.