Here’s 3 reasons why you should be a better observer.
It’s early afternoon and I decide to take some time for a yoga class. I grab my mat, run out the door and savour the cool breeze along my walk there. I get into class, take a sip of cold water and set my mat out ready for my practice. I feel the hardness of the ground under my mat and see only a few other people around me waiting for class to begin. Then all of a sudden I hear a door swing open and there comes a lady walking in with confidence who appears to be looking straight at me while I have my eyes partly closed. Oh that’s Sarah from my building I think to myself! I was invited over for a Christmas soirée to her home just a few months ago. Yet as she looks down at me lying on my mat, I have already committed to my meditation before we start so I decide to acknowledge her presence after the class ends.
The class goes on and after we finish I assume she will come up to me to say a quick hello. But to my surprise she wraps up her mat, puts away her props and seems ready to walk right out when I go up to her and say “Hi Sarah, I am Natasha from the building, remember we met a few months ago?” She jumps back with a “Oh oh…ermm.. I am so sorry I didn’t pay attention I was in a different zone”.
As an observant person I often come across people like this who are clearly somewhere else in their mind but are physically in the room right with you even unawares that they are looking at you or should I say right through you! Though she seemed embarrassed it is often that this happens in the world around us. People are lost in their head and have no idea that someone who’s been a guest in their home is looking right back at them and they don’t have the slightest idea!
I don’t know about you but I am tired of always being the one to spot things so here my friends are reasons why we should all be a bit more observant.
“I just sit back and observe. You learn more that way.” — Sonya Teclai
Sharpen your 5 senses
Being observant means paying attention to the things around you. This allows you to sharpen the very five senses that are a gift for us to enjoy.
Taste — Actually be present with your meal, snack or drink. What does it taste like? Is it crunchy? Salty? Spicy?
Hear — Actually take time to enjoy the beats, hear the birds or listen to your granny’s chirpy voice. Focus on how it makes you feel.
Smell — What does this fragrance remind you of? Does it bring back memories of another time and space?
See — Look at the world around you. What do the trees look like? What has changed in your neighbourhood since last month? Did your colleague change her hairdo? Observe the nuances in the beauty surrounding us.
Touch/Feel — How do your warm pyjamas feel like on your skin? What about the rug below your feet? Or the strokes of a massage at the spa? Feel each sensation.
Notice that talking is not a sense but hearing is. This is nature’s way of telling us to be better listeners!
Save some time and money
While we run through life, taking the time to look around and pay attention can actually save us time and money. For example, today as I walked up the street, a lady was trying to enter the building by pulling on doors that were clearly labelled “Exit Only”, yet despite this she kept trying. If only she read the sign she would have saved herself some time and effort and entered the building through the adjacent doors.
Advertisers love to gain leverage with people who do not pay attention. Ever enter a grocery store and see yellow labels with great deal written by it only to notice the price is actually the same as if it were regular priced? Retailers regularly use this tactic to make you think something is on a promotion when in reality it’s just being highlighted to sell. No sale. No discount. But to the unaware shopper it looks like a deal and pop it goes into the trolley with no thought. Being more observant will always save you money.
Enjoy a more enriching experience of the present
Those who are more observant are more connected to the present and are more mindful of their environments. This breeds the creativity required of writers, enables better overall listening skills since we are more grounded in the moment, and a more organized approach to life given our awareness of our surroundings. Practicing mindfulness meditation can help develop this sense of the moment, which is usually clouded by thoughts of the past or future.
Realize deeply that the present moment is all you have. Make the NOW the primary focus of your life.” — Eckhart Tolle
So here’s my challenge to you, for the next 30 days take the time to be a better observer. This may mean you put your phone away when you go for a walk, pay attention in a meeting without being tempted to check emails or spot 5 things in your neighbourhood that you never noticed before. I promise you, you’ll reap the rewards of not being a multitasking, smartphone scrolling human being. You will build the agility and flexibility of your mind.
