--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I walked and I walked, my mind shifting…" description: "\"“I walked and I walked, my mind shifting into a primal gear that was void of anything but forward motion, and I walked until walking became unbearable,..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4d0/cheryl-strayed-605_forward-motion_i-walked-and-i-walked-my-mind-shifting-i_2020701.png" --- # I walked and I walked, my mind shifting into a primal gear… ![“I walked and I walked, my mind shifting into a primal gear that was void of anything but forward motion, and I walked until walking became unbearable, until I believed I couldn't walk even one more step. And then I ran.” quote by Cheryl Strayed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4d0/cheryl-strayed-605_forward-motion_i-walked-and-i-walked-my-mind-shifting-i_2020701.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4d0/cheryl-strayed-605_forward-motion_i-walked-and-i-walked-my-mind-shifting-i_2020701.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4d0/cheryl-strayed-605_forward-motion_i-walked-and-i-walked-my-mind-shifting-i_2020701.png) > ““I walked and I walked, my mind shifting into a primal gear that was void of anything but forward motion, and I walked until walking became unbearable, until I believed I couldn't walk even one more step. And then I ran.”” [Cheryl Strayed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cheryl-strayed/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Persistent effort turns into exhaustion, but pushing past limits triggers a surge of energy and new capability. **In simple terms:** Keep moving; breakthrough follows fatigue. Key Takeaway Persevere until you discover new strength. Themes perseverance resilience transformation energy Mood determined empowered Type motivational inspirational When to use this quote - long hikes - marathon training - career burnout - mental health recovery Key Concepts psychology human endurance Questions to Reflect On - When did you discover hidden stamina? - What mental shift helped you run? A Different Perspective Physical limits can cause injury if ignored. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Forward motion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/forward-motion/) [Psychology](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/psychology/) ## Related quotes > [“I will never go home, I thought with a finality that made me catch my breath, and then I walked on, my mind emptying…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cheryl-strayed/i-will-never-go-home-i-thought-with-a-finality-that-made-me-catch-my/) [Cheryl Strayed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cheryl-strayed/) > [Within, walls continued upright, bricks met neatly, floors were firm, and doors were sensibly shut; silence lay steadily against the wood and stone of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shirley-jackson/within-walls-continued-upright-bricks-met-neatly-floors-were-firm-and/) [Shirley Jackson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shirley-jackson/) > [“Then she walked, walked flat out, walked with an ache coming up through the earth and into the heel of her striking foot. No…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-sebold/then-she-walked-walked-flat-out-walked-with-an-ache-coming-up-through/) [Alice Sebold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-sebold/) > [“I kept always two books in my pocket, one to read, one to write in. As I walked, my mind was busy fitting what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-louis-stevenson/i-kept-always-two-books-in-my-pocket-one-to-read-one-to-write-in-as-i/) [Robert Louis Stevenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-louis-stevenson/) > [And I walked, I walked through the light air; I moved with the morning.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodore-roethke/and-i-walked-i-walked-through-the-light-air-i-moved-with-the-morning/) [Theodore Roethke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodore-roethke/) > [“And so I walked on.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cheryl-strayed/and-so-i-walked-on/) [Cheryl Strayed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cheryl-strayed/) > [“me back and the bull that would take me forward. And so I walked on. It took all I had to cover nine miles…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cheryl-strayed/me-back-and-the-bull-that-would-take-me-forward-and-so-i-walked-on-it/) [Cheryl Strayed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cheryl-strayed/) > [They showed me the path but they never taught me how to walk. that's why I fell so many times so that I couldn't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ahmed-shahyn/they-showed-me-the-path-but-they-never-taught-me-how-to-walk-that-s/) [Ahmed Shahyn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ahmed-shahyn/) > [The word of the oldest of the old of our peoples didn't stop. It spoke the truth, saying that our feet couldn't walk alone,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/subcomandante-marcos/the-word-of-the-oldest-of-the-old-of-our-peoples-didn-t-stop-it-spoke/) [Subcomandante Marcos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/subcomandante-marcos/) > [I went jogging up on Mulholland. In the middle of my run I had some form of asthma attack and couldn't even walk. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/esai-morales/i-went-jogging-up-on-mulholland-in-the-middle-of-my-run-i-had-some/) [Esai Morales](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/esai-morales/) > [We were at this point of recognisability where we couldn't even walk around anymore... I was really socially anxious and strange.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cole-sprouse/we-were-at-this-point-of-recognisability-where-we-couldn-t-even-walk/) [Cole Sprouse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cole-sprouse/) > [“Knowing that only minutes earlier I had walked to the car, my mom helped me out and stood me up in the parking lot.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-todd-hammer/knowing-that-only-minutes-earlier-i-had-walked-to-the-car-my-mom/) [Sarah Todd Hammer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-todd-hammer/) > [There were days when I couldn't even walk.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/owen-hargreaves/there-were-days-when-i-couldn-t-even-walk/) [Owen Hargreaves](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/owen-hargreaves/) > [ I simply couldn't walk away from \[ The Nightingale\]. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/megan-chance/i-simply-couldn-t-walk-away-from-the-nightingale/) [Megan Chance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/megan-chance/) > [Hating niggas ain't phasing me, you couldn't walk a mile in my foot work.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ace-hood/hating-niggas-ain-t-phasing-me-you-couldn-t-walk-a-mile-in-my-foot/) [Ace Hood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ace-hood/) ## More by Cheryl Strayed > [“She understands that attention is the first and final act of love, and that the ultimate dwindling resource in the human arrangement isn’t cheap…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cheryl-strayed/she-understands-that-attention-is-the-first-and-final-act-of-love-and/) [Cheryl Strayed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cheryl-strayed/) > [“The most terrible and beautiful and interesting things happen in life. For some of you, those things have already happened. Whatever happens to you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cheryl-strayed/the-most-terrible-and-beautiful-and-interesting-things-happen-in-life/) [Cheryl Strayed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cheryl-strayed/) > [Of course you want someone special to love you. A majority of the people who write to me inquire about how they can get…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cheryl-strayed/of-course-you-want-someone-special-to-love-you-a-majority-of-the/) [Cheryl Strayed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cheryl-strayed/) > [It's still true that literary works by women, gays, and writers of color are often framed as specific, rather than universal, small rather than…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cheryl-strayed/it-s-still-true-that-literary-works-by-women-gays-and-writers-of/) [Cheryl Strayed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cheryl-strayed/) > [My whole life sort of ended when my mom died.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cheryl-strayed/my-whole-life-sort-of-ended-when-my-mom-died/) [Cheryl Strayed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cheryl-strayed/) > [“And you have to do it no matter what is true. No matter what is hard.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cheryl-strayed/and-you-have-to-do-it-no-matter-what-is-true-no-matter-what-is-hard/) [Cheryl Strayed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cheryl-strayed/) > [“Don’t listen to those people who suggest you should be “over” your daughter’s death by now. The people who squawk the loudest about such…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cheryl-strayed/don-t-listen-to-those-people-who-suggest-you-should-be-over-your/) [Cheryl Strayed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cheryl-strayed/) > [“. . . there was the actual doing it, quickly followed by the grim realization of what it meant to do it, followed by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cheryl-strayed/there-was-the-actual-doing-it-quickly-followed-by-the-grim/) [Cheryl Strayed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cheryl-strayed/) > [“The sky didn't wonder where it was.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cheryl-strayed/the-sky-didn-t-wonder-where-it-was/) [Cheryl Strayed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cheryl-strayed/) > [He was the most ordinary man in all the world, and yet in her memory he'd become luminous, like the prince in a fairy…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cheryl-strayed/he-was-the-most-ordinary-man-in-all-the-world-and-yet-in-her-memory/) [Cheryl Strayed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cheryl-strayed/) > [Love is our essential nutrient. Without it, life has little meaning. It's the best thing we have to give and the most valuable thing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cheryl-strayed/love-is-our-essential-nutrient-without-it-life-has-little-meaning-it/) [Cheryl Strayed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cheryl-strayed/) > [“I never believed the boys were angry. I believed they were hurt and anger was the safest manifestation of their sorrow. It was the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cheryl-strayed/i-never-believed-the-boys-were-angry-i-believed-they-were-hurt-and/) [Cheryl Strayed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cheryl-strayed/) > [“It’s wrong that this is required of you. It’s wrong that your son died. It will always be wrong.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cheryl-strayed/it-s-wrong-that-this-is-required-of-you-it-s-wrong-that-your-son-died/) [Cheryl Strayed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cheryl-strayed/) > [“Your ultimatum is simple. It’s fair. And it’s stating your own intentions, not what you hope theirs will be.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cheryl-strayed/your-ultimatum-is-simple-it-s-fair-and-it-s-stating-your-own/) [Cheryl Strayed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cheryl-strayed/) > [“We aren't poor," my mother said, again and again. "Because we're rich in love.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cheryl-strayed/we-aren-t-poor-my-mother-said-again-and-again-because-we-re-rich-in/) [Cheryl Strayed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cheryl-strayed/) [Explore all 450 Cheryl Strayed quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cheryl-strayed/) ## More Forward motion quotes > [“That girl, dead and gone, her spirit trapped forever just inside town limits—she'd come from someplace, was going somewhere. Until destiny had stepped into…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kat-rosenfield/that-girl-dead-and-gone-her-spirit-trapped-forever-just-inside-town/) [Kat Rosenfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kat-rosenfield/) > [Keep on moving: any motion is forward motion. You can always course-correct.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daphne-oz/keep-on-moving-any-motion-is-forward-motion-you-can-always-course/) [Daphne Oz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daphne-oz/) > [“The best defense is great offense. . .We fight through our mistakes and failures by maximizing our forward motion.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wayde-goodall/the-best-defense-is-great-offense-we-fight-through-our-mistakes-and/) [Wayde Goodall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wayde-goodall/) > [“For me, becoming isn’t about arriving somewhere or achieving a certain aim. I see it instead as forward motion, a means of evolving, a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelle-obama/for-me-becoming-isn-t-about-arriving-somewhere-or-achieving-a-certain/) [Michelle Obama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelle-obama/) > [“May the grace of faith, keep you going in the forward motion to reach the ultimate goal.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lailah-gifty-akita/may-the-grace-of-faith-keep-you-going-in-the-forward-motion-to-reach/) [Lailah Gifty Akita](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lailah-gifty-akita/) > [“The Artist His gift is the ability to deeply see a woman. There are men who truly see women and men who see only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-brody/the-artist-his-gift-is-the-ability-to-deeply-see-a-woman-there-are/) Karen Brody > [Sometimes the biggest gain in productive energy will come from cleaning the cobwebs, dealing with old business, and clearing the desks—cutting loose debris that's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-allen/sometimes-the-biggest-gain-in-productive-energy-will-come-from/) [David Allen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-allen/) > [“We live our lives in forward motion, but only understand them when looking backward. I therefore challenge you to keep a six- to twelve-month…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-c-neal/we-live-our-lives-in-forward-motion-but-only-understand-them-when/) [Mary C. Neal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-c-neal/) > [Home is in my hair, my lips, my arms, my thighs, my feet and my hands. I am my own home. And when I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diriye-osman/home-is-in-my-hair-my-lips-my-arms-my-thighs-my-feet-and-my-hands-i/) [Diriye Osman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diriye-osman/) > [ On a good day, I view the job \[of president\] as directing an orchestra. On the dark days, it is more like that of… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/on-a-good-day-i-view-the-job-of-president-as-directing-an-orchestra/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Film is so much about that intensity of focus that there always needs to be some tension and some forward motion. The novel goes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lenny-abrahamson/film-is-so-much-about-that-intensity-of-focus-that-there-always-needs/) Lenny Abrahamson > [The best antidote I have found is to yearn for something. As long as you yearn, you can't congeal: There is a forward motion…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gail-godwin/the-best-antidote-i-have-found-is-to-yearn-for-something-as-long-as/) [Gail Godwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gail-godwin/) > [Theoretical concepts of music and extended techniques are more like seasoning to me; they're not the meal. I like outside music that still has…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gerard-cox/theoretical-concepts-of-music-and-extended-techniques-are-more-like/) Gerard Cox > [“There was a relentless forward motion to the man. The universe might knock him down over and over again, but unless he was dead,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-s-a-corey/there-was-a-relentless-forward-motion-to-the-man-the-universe-might/) [James S.A. Corey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-s-a-corey/) > [“Edenists will disdain busy working people. They will portray them as heartless robots of a soulless capitalist system. They don’t understand that most of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/todd-g-buchholz/edenists-will-disdain-busy-working-people-they-will-portray-them-as/) [Todd G. Buchholz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/todd-g-buchholz/) [Browse all 53 Forward motion quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/forward-motion/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“I walked and I walked, my mind shifting into a primal gear that was void of anything but forward motion, and I walked until walking became unbearable, until I believed I couldn't walk even one more step. And then I ran.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Cheryl Strayed" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cheryl-strayed/i-walked-and-i-walked-my-mind-shifting-into-a-primal-gear-that-was/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Forward motion" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cheryl-strayed/i-walked-and-i-walked-my-mind-shifting-into-a-primal-gear-that-was/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4d0/cheryl-strayed-605_forward-motion_i-walked-and-i-walked-my-mind-shifting-i_2020701.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4d0/cheryl-strayed-605_forward-motion_i-walked-and-i-walked-my-mind-shifting-i_2020701.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4d0/cheryl-strayed-605_forward-motion_i-walked-and-i-walked-my-mind-shifting-i_2020701.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I walked and I walked, my mind shifting into a primal gear that was void of anything but forward motion, and…” — Cheryl Strayed", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Cheryl Strayed", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cheryl-strayed/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“I walked and I walked, my...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cheryl-strayed/i-walked-and-i-walked-my-mind-shifting-into-a-primal-gear-that-was/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cheryl-strayed/i-walked-and-i-walked-my-mind-shifting-into-a-primal-gear-that-was/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```