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What I Know Now Chapter 6

What concepts am I willing to take from this chapter to apply to my current life?

One concept from chapter 6 that I feel I need more development in is spending time outdoors. I

remember as a child spending the majority of my time outside and I enjoyed every minute of it.

Sadly, I’ve noticed that as I’ve gotten older, I tend to spend my free time indoors playing on the

computer or watching T.V.

What are the personal and interpersonal requirements necessary to affect the desired

outcome?

After reading this chapter and self reflecting on the benefits of connecting with nature, I realized

that I am wasting opportunities to really change my life for the positive. I have to truly buy into

this to make change personally occur because right now, I have set my life up to where I am

inside most of my day whether it is in classes, my apartment, restaurants or in my friends places.

Through this chapter I learned that spending time outdoors is important to both my physical and

mental health. Physically it will boost my vitamin D levels as well as increase my activity level

while calming my nervous system down. Mentally it can help boost my creativity and cognitive

function, reduce anxious thoughts (stress) and boost neurotransmitters in the brain increasing my

happiness level. Interpersonally, I need to look at being outside not as something else I have to

do but as a beneficial lifestyle change. In paying attention to my surroundings, I’ve noticed that

most people spend their free time hanging outside of the Memorial Union and other outdoor

sitting areas/open-air places around ASU which solidifies social support networks and

encourages mindful communication so making this change will only benefit me.

What steps will I take to set this new path into motion?

When I go back to school in the fall, I am going to consciously make outdoor time part of my

everyday routine. I will do this by incorporating more outdoor activities such as taking a hike

once a week (Love to go up A Mountain), studying outside at one of the beautiful benches

situated around campus (when the weather permits), riding my bike for both school and pleasure,

walking my dog, and visiting parks that are close to campus. When I find myself falling into a

Netflix haze or mindlessly surfing social media, I will step back and get outside, even if it is for

only a few minutes. I have learned that mindfully engaging in basic outdoor activities leads to

more mindfulness and more mindfulness leads to less stress both physically and mentally. As

one of my favorite inspiring quotes say.

“I go to nature every day for inspiration in the day’s work.” –Frank Lloyd Wright