When I got home from my office the other day, my wife and I decided to take our dog for a walk. We are busy professionals living in a city. We are fortunate that we have a large park near our home. I noticed while we walked the dog, I spent most of the time looking down at the ground. I wondered why. Did I need more time to unwind for the craziness of the day? No, it didn’t feel like that was quite it. So I kept thinking about it, noting occasionally that I reverted back to looking at the ground just in front of my feet.
The most obvious answer was I was afraid of falling. I paid more attention while we continued to walk, to see if I was afraid of falling . No, that wasn’t it. So I decided to make a conscious effort to walk with my head up. I won’t lie, at first it took some effort to keep my head up Soon I found that I was watching others who were walking. They only lifted their heads to say hi to passersby or to occasionally look at the person they were walking with.
I started thinking about it and I wondered what I was missing by looking down. I found that there is a whole world out there that we are missing when we stare at the ground three feet in front of us. It was like exploring a whole new world. Okay, dramatic, but you get the point.
When we returned home I sat on our back porch taking in the beauty of the yard we created, but I couldn’t let it go. I wondered if walking wasn’t the only place we tend to bury our heads.
What about at work? Do you tend to look or shy away from chances that may advance your career or are you holding your head high hunting for the opportunities.
What about in social settings? If you’re out at an event do you sit quietly in your chair or are you out mingling making new friends, maybe even networking.
Imagine if we all let it fly. If we all walked with our heads up and greeted the world with fire in our belly.
If anyone is wondering, I did come up with some possibilities for this funny, but common quirk the majority of us seem to have as we stroll along our path in life.
• We are afraid of failing
• We have a fear of being noticed
• We feel inferior to those around us
• There is a fear of taking steps to create change in our lives
• It relates back to some primal instinct to hunting and foraging
For me, I would like to think that it was the last thought. I rather blame it on our ancestors. OK, I’m going to do some intensive personal work on this one.
If you can come with other possibilities (life is full of possibilities, let’s have some fun with these) I would love to hear your comments.
PS. I did trip a few times. That just helped me increase my awareness and be more focused.
I’m keeping my head up and looking forward to exploring whatever I see on my path.
Are you ready to pick up your head?
RISK IT ALL, You Have Something Vital to Share, Now Get It Out There! – A Journey to Teotihuacan, Mx