I Walked For 12 Hours By myself, No Phone, No Music, And No Talking. Here’s What I Learned From The Experience
Just based on the title of this blog post, this probably sounds like a pretty nutty idea, right?
That would be the understatement of the century.
Let me back up a little…
I was first inspired to do the 12-hour walk after listening to world-renowned adventurist Colin O’ Brady on one of my favorite podcasts, The Doctor’s Farmacy promoting his new book: 12-Hour Walk: Invest One Day, Conquer Your Mind, and Unlock Your Best Life.
In each chapter, O’Brady relates his nail-biting adventures to the 12-hour walk. Everything from sailing the Drake Passage to pulling a 400-lb sled across Antarctica to summiting Everest with his wife. He uses his stories to share how he conquered his own limiting beliefs and scarcity mindsets to achieve something incredible.
The idea behind the 12-hour walk is to give people the opportunity to conquer their own “Everest” for free by pushing past mental and physical discomfort to unlock a “possible mindset.”
When I decided to do the walk, I had the intention of spending the whole day organizing my thoughts around the upcoming road trip we were going on. I thought it would be the perfect way to gain clarity on the content I wanted to create and how I wanted to share it with the world.
But the universe had different plans for me…
When I first left our house in Royersford that brisk Saturday morning of September at 7:45 am, the day was filled with promise. I got on the Skuhkill River Trail around 8:00 and headed east with my brain buzzing with everything I wanted to work through.
Note: Before committing to the walk, Colin suggests writing down the limiting beliefs you set out to conquer that you wanted to conquer. Some of mine were:
You’re not good enough,
You’re not smart enough,
You have to work hard to be loved.
You have to work yourself to the bone in order to be successful.
You have to work relentlessly to be financially abundant.
Nobody cares what you have to say.
There’s not enough time in the day to do all the things you want to do.
As I was thinking about my limiting beliefs during the first couple of hours of my walk, I was feeling overwhelmed, not knowing how to navigate them or even where to begin.
The 1st Leg of My Journey:
“Getting The Feel for Things”
My first stop was about 5 miles in. I stopped in Phoenixville, a lively town in the Philly suburbs that has a farmer’s market downtown every Saturday. I sat on the grass and listened to the local band play their music while I ate some fruit and an energy bar.
Without talking to anyone (another requirement O’Brady has for the walk), I was eager to continue on my journey to Valley Forge National Park. Even though my mind was clamoring, I was enjoying being outside and feeling the warmth of the sun on my skin.
I think there was a lot of positive energy running through me at this point, though, because I was attracting animals everywhere I went. It was the craziest thing! Ducks were swimming up to me on the river trail. Every dog that passed by me wanted to be pet, and butterflies were leading the way in front of me—it was truly magical and a sure sign that I was being called to be present.
By the time I reached Valley Forge, I had walked nearly eight miles and was feeling great physically, but mentally I felt like I was falling behind. I just wasn’t making the progress I had thought I would by now. I was beginning to question if I was even doing this walk right or if I was going to get anything out of it.
The 2nd Leg of My Journey:
“Am I Even Doing This Right?”
My mind was racing about all things past, present, and future. I was bouncing back and forth, thinking about my family, home life, work, and our upcoming trip.
~~~
Despite the mental chatter, I was having some revelations along the way. I recorded one on my phone, so I wouldn’t forget, and it was along the lines of, “I need to start thinking less and listening more.”
I had this epiphany as I was walking because I was reminded that I was actually supposed to do the walk the weekend before, and last minute the forecast changed and called for rain the whole day I was planning on going.
My whole heart was set on going for the walk that day. I was super anxious thinking about what I would accomplish if I didn’t go for the walk. I mean, I had to do something! Work on my blog? Write? Get ahead for the work week? Make Instagram content?
The thought of not going on the walk left me overwhelmed because I felt that I had to replace it with something productive—something I was taught as a child by my dad, a self-employed business owner. “If you’re not doing something, you're doing nothing.”
I stressed myself out, thinking that I had to accomplish something. I panicked and worked all day and then went into the work week feeling totally burnt out. Now I know that what the universe really wanted me to do was rest.
My period came the day before I planned to do the walk (mother’s nature sure sign that it’s time to rest). The rain, my period, what more of a sign did I need? I was meant to rest and go on the walk the next weekend (when I did).
Moral of the story: the universe is always working for me, I need to do less and listen more.
~~~
I hiked all the way to Mount Misery, which, ironically, was pretty fitting for how I was feeling at the time. It was 2:30 pm, and I had hiked about 15 miles. My back was hurting from carrying my backpack filled with water and food, and I had some knee pain.
I started to question why I was even doing this and if I was making a huge mistake wasting a Saturday walking all day instead of being productive and getting shit done.
Around 3:45, I was not a happy camper at this point. Almost eight hours in, I was beginning to feel helpless. I sat down at a park bench to rest and hydrate and pulled out a copy of Eckhart Tolle’s book, the Power of Now, that I brought with me. I cracked it open to a random page (this book is the best for this) and started reading.
And it turned out that this was the exact passage I needed to hear. It said,
If you found yourself in paradise, it wouldn’t be long until your mind said: “yes, but…” Ultimately, this is not about solving your problems. It’s about realizing that there are no problems. Only situations—to be dealt with now or left alone and accepted as part of the “isness” of the present moment until they change or can be dealt with. Problems are mind-made and need time to survive. They cannot survive in the actuality of the Now. Focus your attention on the Now and tell me what problems you have in this moment.
Wow, this was a much-needed reality check!
I was trying this whole time to force things to happen instead of just letting them happen. I was trying too hard to think, to create, instead of just being and letting the thoughts come to me. After all, creativity can’t happen in a busy mind. The mind needs calmness and stillness to feel safe in order to come alive.
With this new mindset, I was finally ready to sit back, be still, transcend into the present moment and let the unmanifested present itself to me. And that’s exactly what I did.
The 3rd Leg of My Journey:
”Oh, That’s What The Universe Was Trying To Teach Me…”
I continued to walk through Valley Forge and found my way onto this gorgeous trail that weaved through the rolling meadows. By this time, it was around 5:00, and the sun was beginning to descend. Golden hour illuminated the colorful wildflowers lining the hills, and I was awestruck by the beauty in front of me.
As I was walking through the meadows, I was feeling grateful, pure joy, and happiness despite the blisters on my heel and my aching back. I felt refreshed and revived on this last leg of my journey. Instead of relentlessly thinking and planning how our road trip was going to go, I visualized how I wanted it to go.
I saw myself fully present with my man, laughing and enjoying every moment, and authentically creating content when the moment felt right. Nothing felt forced in the vision. I felt happiness, joy, contentment, and all of the elevated emotions.
I walked past the Washington Monument, picking up the highlights of the descending sun. Smiling, I felt so grateful for this walk, I was finally present. Leading up to that moment, I do believe that the walk was teaching me a valuable lesson: I have got to stop trying so hard and be open to letting the universe work its magic for me.
The Last Leg of My Journey:
”There’s Beauty In Everything”
Around mile 19, my phone diet. Luckily. I had a park map with me that I picked up in case that happened. It was 6:30, and I had an hour and fifteen minutes left. I headed back to base camp (a nod to Everest there 😉) near the entrance of the park, where I told Evan to pick me up.
As the sun was setting behind me, I kept looking back and catching glimpses of its beauty. Once I navigated my way to the entrance, I crossed the bridge into the park entrance and caught a glimmer of the blue and pink iridescent sky on the Skuhkill. Beautiful.
But I still had an hour to kill, though. I walked and read more The Power of Now. Again, opening it to a random page, I begin to read another perfect passage for the moment I was in. This part was about time and space and that we are just floating on a planet surrounded by the vastness of the universe. Kind of a humbling thought but also a beautiful one. Because here, anything is possible.
This felt like a good note to end on. I sat down where I told Evan to pick me up, and within ten minutes, he pulled up in his white Chevy pickup. I jumped up and gave him a hug through the window—the first contact I had had with another human being for 12 hours.
I hugged him and whispered I love you, I missed you, in his ear, and as we headed back home, I told him about the awe-inspiring lessons I learned and the takeaways I had from my journey, aching legs, blistered feet, and full heart.
Unlocking My Possible Mindset: The Top Five Lessons I Learned
Stop trying to make things happen. Trust the universe and let God work for you.
Have an open heart and listen more. God is working in your life all the time.
Trust your gut and honor your instincts and authenticity.
You were destined for success. Enjoy your life and be present, and let the success come to you.
You can do hard shit!
This walk taught me so much about myself. It was everything I needed to hear and none of what I was expecting. Going into this experience, I was expecting something completely different and was completely humbled and blown away by what I left with.
This was how far I walked according to the 12 Hour Walk App (which totally drained my battery, lol.) I probably walked another 2 miles after my phone died for a total of 24ish miles.
I highly encourage you to pick up a copy of O’Brady’s book and consider doing the 12-hour walk. There are no expectations to walk a certain amount of miles, you can take as many breaks as you want. It’s just you and your thoughts and conquering the limiting beliefs that have been holding you back from living your best life.
What do you have to lose?
Sending love and kindness,
Taylor 🫶🌱
P.S. If you want to see the snacks I packed and how I fueled for this hike, click here!
