How fast do you walk?

Source: Pinterest

As far as resolutions go, one that I have made in particular is with regards to the speed in which I walk. Instead of "resolution", I suppose it's safer to say that it's more of a reminder and a habit that I wish to change.

There are all sorts of speeds in this world. You have those who walk really slowly, those who speed away as if they're engaged in an urgent matter and those who walk at an average speed. 

Now I happen to fall in the second category, especially so when I'm alone. With company I find myself following their pace unless we're in a rush somewhere. That said though, I'm very often leading the group when we're walking... I wonder why. Maybe it's my pace. 

I've come to realise that the speed at which I walk when alone has influenced my life and ultimately my happiness. Firstly, I hardly have time to look at the things around me and consider their beauty given I'm so concentrated in getting to my destination as quickly as possible. Secondly, I most probably appear to be rather haphazard to others given how fast I walk. Walking fast increases your heart rate and though it may prove to be a rather good form of exercise whilst out but it doesn't necessarily portray you in a very good light. I basically found myself feeling awkward whenever I was out alone. 

Simply put, I felt as if my life was a rush and I felt highly unattractive each time I reached my destination. 

This year I told myself I wanted to stop walking so fast all the time. I wanted to change the pace in which I moved around from point to point. I needed to stop feeling so awkward about walking alone. 

Believe it or not, the impact it had on me was dramatic. I felt so much more at ease once I changed my pace. I was able to breathe calmly as opposed to the rapid heartbeats before and this altogether made me feel more relaxed as I walked along the streets. I felt less awkward, less of a haphazard but above all, I felt happy. I should mention now that my slower pace was coupled with a proper posture so this may have played a supporting role as well. 

Why am I sharing this otherwise boring and irrelevant post you ask? Well, because I feel that so many of us today are trapped in this cycle of rushing from place to place that we ignore the beauty of the things around us. Above all, apart from noticing the smaller things in life, the way we walk may inadvertently affect our own happiness. I'm so glad I detected my way of walking as a problem in itself, because I think it could have very well affected me altogether in the long run. 

I do occasionally fall back into my rushed pace and I find that I constantly need to remind myself to slow down and walk properly. I am definitely seeing this habit in a positive light and hope that in the days to come I no longer will need to remind myself anymore. 

Hope this post has enlightened you somehow, feel free to share your thoughts :)

xx