A Mission to Feel Good – by Seb Randle

Guest Writer – Seb Randle

The Mission

Two years ago, I embarked on a serious mission to get fit. At first, this was a quest to change my physical shape, but over time, this has evolved into a much broader goal that incorporates both looking and also feeling good.

My first step towards a better me was to start walking.

Initially, this meant walking to work instead of driving 2 miles each way. Breaking up what I thought would be a monotonous task, I would listen to a podcast or a Spotify playlist along the way. However, more recently, I have been mindfully taking time to notice and observe the environment around me, listen to the birds and feel the breeze on my face as I walk. These are words I never thought I would hear myself saying!

Feeling more connected to the outdoors instead of lazing around idly wasting hours at a time (which I could often be guilty of in my free time), felt liberating.

Any nagging thoughts ebbed away as soon as I stepped into the fresh air. Seeing the vastness of the world in front of you has a knack of minimising any personal worries you may have. You feel small and insignificant in comparison, and that applies to your problems as well as your physical size.

Walking With The Freshwalks Family

It was then that I ventured into the Freshwalks family for the first time. I wanted to experience some more adventurous walks that not only tested my strength and stamina but also introduced me to like-minded people with a shared love of the outdoors. Before I knew it, I had notched up 200k with this group of special people across my first 12 months.

What makes Freshwalks so special is the sense of community and the fantastic personalities that you will meet. It’s never the same group, and there are always new and interesting faces. There are the regular stalwarts of course; you can find them on the more gruelling trails. But you can also meet lots of other types of people with differing abilities, across the varied routes they have on offer.

I have to give a special thank you to the Freshwalks community for their genuine concern, support, humour and kindness throughout the more unsettling times for me, work-wise. Like many out there, I have suffered redundancy (back in 2018) and more recently been subject to furlough. I have felt an increasing sense of anxiety during the more pressured moments, it has to be said, like lockdown for example.

Whilst I was never able to attend the event myself, Freshwalks hosted a specific hike for those people who had been furloughed or made redundant, to offer support alongside those that knew what that feeling was like. This typifies the sense of community you feel from this group of people.

A New Beginning

As I write this now, I am 3 days into what can only be described as my dream job; as Development Coach for the social media marketing company, Social Chain.

Transitioning into a more people-focused role, from a media and advertising background, hasn’t always been the easiest of tasks, but taking time out from my studies and endless job applications to hike across our beautiful countryside has given me the headspace to stay motivated and make this change happen.

Freshwalks, thank you for being part of my journey, and for helping me in your unique way.

More About Seb

Seb Randle has enjoyed a colourful career to date, having notched up 20 years within the advertising industry for the likes of Shortlist Media and Digital Cinema Media. Seb now works as a Development Coach for the notorious social media marketing company – Social Chain.

You can find out more about Seb on his LinkedIn profile here or get a little bit more personal with fresh insight from his interview with Freshwalks here.