Things have been crazy and you need to decompress.
So, you decide to go for a walk.
Buuuuut……
Just because you go for a walk doesn’t mean that you’ll decompress. In fact, it’s possible to go for a walk and end up more mentally fatigued than when we started.
So how do we make sure that we actually decompress when going for a walk?
Pay attention to where you look.
There are two types of looking.
Humans can either look with physical eyes, or with the eyes of their minds. Which eyes we pay attention to determines whether we stay engaged with our problems or disengage from the problems of the day and decompress- unleashing the creative energies within.
That Blank Stare
We’ve all been there. We’ve got something on our minds and we’re driving or we’re walking and we’re staring at one spot in front of us. While we are doing that our Mind’s Eye is looking at a problem. It’s trying to solve it. Our mind is turning things this way and that. When this is going on, our physical eyes may well be open, but they aren’t really paying attention to what they see. That’s because out attention is focused on the projector in our minds. The environment passes by and we’re problem solving. We’re not disengaged – we’re not decompressing. Creativity suffers.
Look around!
The solution is to look everywhere. Don’t just look at the ground, blankly staring at that one spot ahead. Look at what’s around you. When you do that things begin to pop out, interesting things, novel things, things you didn’t expect. That’s because you are actually looking and exploring with your eyes. You not only disengage from the problem, your mind calms, you relax and good things happen.
Try this Experiment
It works better if you’re walking in the woods, but you can actually do it right where you are. Without closing your eyes make up a couple paragraph story about a dog and a banana. Pay attention to what your eyes do while you’re composing. You’ll find yourself looking at one specific spot typically while you’re doing this. Your eyes won’t wander. At least not a lot. You’ll probably do pretty well.
Now, try to make up a story that’s different, but make a concerted effort every second or two to glance at something else within your room or your environment. Really look at what you’re looking at.
You got much further along when you didn’t force your eyes to look all over and explore your environment didn’t you? Typically every time you change your gaze you have to revisit the story.
Observing and Problem Solving don’t Happen at the Same Time
It’s important to realize this especially when you’re doing experiments, or testing things. If we are frustrated by a certain problem or a certain situation, we can’t see a solution while we are seeing the problem in our minds. Observing time is observing time. Pay attention with all your senses. Sight, sound touch, smell, taste, your intuition.
Taking in information in this way treats the incoming information as important. Sifting through the experiences and connecting the dots is best done at a time when we’re not observing an experiment. If you want to walk through a problem and look for insights, put it out on a whiteboard, diagram it out. (You’ll actually find yourself staring at certain things on the board while you’re thinking. You’re looking but not seeing again 😉 )
But, sometimes, you just need to put some space between you and the problem. That’s a great way to free up brainpower. If that’s what you want to do, pay attention to where you’re looking.
Would love to hear what your experience is with this. Let me know your thoughts!
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