Take a weekly awe walk

Walk with the explicit intention of seeking something vast or wondrous — shifting your attention outward rather than inward.

Why it works

A standard walk engages the default mode network’s self-referential processing: people use walks to think about themselves, plan, and ruminate. An awe walk — one taken with an explicit attitude of curiosity and openness to wonder — shifts attention away from the self-narrative toward the external world, producing the "small self" effect: a temporary quieting of the ego that is reliably associated with increased positive affect.

How to do it

1. Schedule a 20-minute walk with one intention: to notice something vast, beautiful, or hard to explain.
2. Leave earphones behind.
3. When you notice something that produces even a mild sense of wonder, stop and attend to it fully for at least 30 seconds.
4. Afterward, spend two minutes writing one sentence about what you noticed.

Evidence

Sturm et al. (2020) found that eight weeks of weekly awe walks produced greater well-being, more prosocial emotions, and reduced self-focused attention compared to standard walks, in older adults — a randomized controlled design. (rct)

The study was in older adults; generalizability to other age groups and the precise dose required are not yet established.

Sources

• Sturm et al. (2020), "Big smile, small self: Awe walks promote prosocial positive emotions in older adults," Emotion

Common mistake

Taking the walk but listening to a podcast or music — this keeps attention inward and negates the attention-outward mechanism.