Why I Try to Look Straight While Walking
A common trait observed across almost all leaders of the world
A common trait observed across almost all leaders of the world is their ability to look straight while walking. It is a trait that, for most people, is indicative of the level of confidence they possess. In this article, I shall delve into the possible causes of why many people don’t look straight while walking and what changes does one need to bring upon oneself which will automatically lead him/her to look straight. I personally have been applying these techniques to myself to see better results.
The Reason For Looking Down While Walking
Looking straight while walking is a reflection of our current state of mind. If we are living life in the present and not brooding over the past or worrying about the future, then without much effort, we will be able to look straight while walking. Another reason for not looking straight is to avoid any stimulus which might trigger our subconscious fear, thus making us feel uneasy e.g. one may want to avoid eye contact with others by looking down while walking as eye contact may generate negative emotions. This approach is especially more common when we are in the zone while walking i.e. engrossed in something by using a part of our energy to keep away other fears from affecting us. Any small disturbance in our state of mind can take us out of the zone, which we don’t want.
Living life in the present is not that straightforward. Only when a person is happy, can he/she live in the current moment and experience the joy that interpreting events in the current moment brings. But not everyone's subconscious programming is good. Based on the beliefs and past experiences that a person has, there is a possibility that he/she may decide to live a restricted life. Any small stimulus may activate the subconscious fear which may make the person uneasy. This approach towards life translates to one looking at the ground while walking.
A point to note is that the vice versa is not always true i.e. looking at the ground need not always mean that the person is not living in the present or avoiding any stimulus which may trigger subconscious fear e.g. while trekking in a jungle, one is living in the present and is joyous as well even though he/she is looking at the ground while walking as the path may contain some surprises. Similarly, when one is in deep conversation with someone while walking then also he/she may look down but it does not mean that the person is not living in the present. But in general, looking at the ground while walking does give an indication that something needs to change in our subconscious programming.
The Process of Catharsis in Dealing With the Issue
Catharsis along with some changes in beliefs has enabled me to start living in the present. Whenever I receive any stimulus which activates my subconscious fear, I go to the past experience and relive that fear and vent it out through various means such as fast breathing, etc. I then analyze the belief which caused fear in the first place and then replace it with a better one. After doing this process, I become immune to the original stimulus and do not fear receiving it again. The following articles explain catharsis in more detail
The process of catharsis explained in terms of software development analogy
Does an empty mind make you feel restless?
In order to deal with uncertainty in the future, which causes me not to live life in the present, doing catharsis and believing in some spiritual truths, has proved helpful e.g. fear that I may not have a job tomorrow can be addressed by removing the negative emotions (through catharsis) associated with the process of giving interviews in the past and believing the spiritual truth that incidents, whether good or bad, happen in our life in order to free us and make us a more evolved person.
Thus by changing the subconscious programming, anyone can start enjoying the little things in life which happen in the current moment. This can enable us to automatically look straight while walking. But again this parameter should not be used to judge others. Everyone is living a different story and to judge them would mean we don't understand their story. So ideally looking down should act as a stimulus to make us (and only us) think if we need to bring any change in ourselves. By working on ourselves we shall evolve into better and a more happy person.
