Launching The Escape Routes: A new monthly walking meet up
Meet career changers, remote workers, startuppers, freelancers and consultants, and just generally people who share the same dream as you - to work in something that is good for society and the planet.
“Walking is man’s best medicine,” wrote Hippocrates. “It is only ideas gained from walking that have any worth”, said German Philosopher Nietzsche. “Taking a long walk was his preferred way to have a serious conversation” explains Steve Jobs’ biography.
Greats like Beethoven, Aristotle, Darwin, and Steve Jobs regularly walked for a few hours everyday, and companies like Google, Facebook and LinkedIn now encourage walking meetings on the regular. Taking a walk to clear your mind is something that we’ve all done before of our own accord, too, and we even advise our colleagues and friends to do it when they hit a roadblock. But…why? What’s going on when we walk, and what’s the secret?
Scientifically proven: ‘Out of the box’ creativity
In a physical sense, walking increases blood flow to the brain, and encourages regular, full breathing. No bad, not bad. But what effects does this have on the old noggin?
Stanford University researchers Marily Oppezzo and Daniel Schwartz gave two groups of people a creative problem to solve: one group sat in a room, the other walked around the campus. The result? The walkers showed on average 60% more creativity and divergent thinking. They even repeated the test with people walking on a treadmill inside, versus being outside in nature, and (yep, you guessed it) the outside walkers were more creative, and better at reflective and analytical thinking. It’s a result that’s seen time and time again in different studies, from Harvard Medical School to Yale.
So if you’re needing a wacky solution to a problem, can’t find your way out of a metaphorical maze, or need to come at something from an innovative or imaginative new angle, walking is your new power tool.
Scientifically proven: Togetherness
Since the pandemic shut us inside, many of us haven’t returned to our old schedules. While this has brought numerous benefits like working in your sweats, and being able to surf at lunchtime, there are a few downsides. You’ll not run into your colleague Sia at the coffee machine and come up with a spontaneous sparky idea for your joint project, or stroll with Antonio at lunch and find out he also shares a passion for beanie babies (you never know…).
Research from the University of Hong Kong found that pairs of people walking together tend to match each other’s pace, even if they walk in silence, and even if they don’t already know each other. This motion of walking together creates a powerful sense of togetherness and creates a positive impression of the other person - and can happen in as little as 5 minutes.
Walking with others gets you on the same level in a subconscious way that we can’t consciously do when sitting or standing still. This magic is just one of the benefits of walking with others.
Walk with us! Escape Route your way to a purposeful career move
One day in April, our team met in Lisbon to think about new ways to help you find purposeful careers, and we ended up doing (drumroll….) a walking meeting. The funny thing is that while walking, we started thinking about - you guessed it - walking. From our incredible connections made on the Camino de Santiago, to the bonds we made walking the last past of a 10k run, to our quirky ideas that came out of walking meetings.
We know that walking helps our creativity, memory, focus and connects us in ways that we can’t do inside. We also know that listening to real-life stories of people who have made a switch to a purposeful career, and speaking to them in person, are big influences for potential Escapees. So bringing together all of these benefits, we are excited to launch our next initiative - Escape Routes!
Escape Routes are outdoor, nature-filled 30-minute walks where you can meet like-minded people that want to leave their corporate jobs and switch to purposeful careers. We will walk out of the city (Escape Route, get it!) into open green spaces, coastal routes with sea views, along the beach, or through a beautiful park, finishing with a coffee/lemonade/drink of your choice at a local sustainable spot. This is your chance to meet the real people who have made a corporate escape already, have an idea for a purposeful project, are freelancing for NGOs and charities, innovating in impact startups, or just want to work in something that does good for the planet and society.
We’re first piloting The Escape Route in 5 locations (Granada, Ericeira, Cornwall, Guildford, Brighton), on the same day, at the same time, on Wednesday 17 August.
Secure your spot at our first events!
Escape Route Ericeira (Portugal)
If you don’t see your location here, watch this space, as we will soon be launching in London, Bristol, Barcelona, Madrid, Lisbon and more locations near you! We want to grow this community into more locations too, so will be looking for people to lead them, if you're interested.
We’d love to see you there, and can’t wait to hear who you met and what you came up with on the walks!