The unknown is hard work

While on our weekend break in Chester, we walked from our hotel to the city centre. The area was completely unknown to us. We were taking in everything as we went, marking the journey by the things that we noticed. We walked for a couple of hours and when we got back, it felt like quite the trip. We were exhausted.

Today, I went on my lunchtime walk as I do every week day. I zoned out while listening to a podcast. I’ve walked the same route so many times I could practically do it in my sleep.

I then opened the pedometer app on my phone. I was surprised to see that my lunchtime walk was roughly half the distance we had walked in Chester. And yet the walk in Chester felt way further.

This reminded me that:

When we do something we haven’t done before, we find it more difficult.

When we don’t know what to expect next, we use more energy.

When we don’t know what the full journey looks like, each step feels like it takes longer.