Slave Walking vs. Savoring Walking. What’s the Difference?
All of a sudden, her device wouldn’t take a charge.
In a panic, my teenage daughter rushed around the house trying to find any charger that would work to keep her device alive. Nothing worked and a few hours later, the screen went black. This was a blessing in disguise.
During the weeks it took our phone provider to determine the device needed to be replaced, her devastation turned into a opportunity to refocus. She spent more time outside walking around, watching the trees move and listening to animals. Instead of having her face down in the screen of her device, her head was up looking around and watching things that were happening.
Pretty soon, she started telling me more about interesting things happening that I didn’t notice. The different colors of birds coming around our yard, the way the trees smell/change daily, and the sounds of the wildlife moving around in the forest behind our home are a few interesting insights that she pointed out.
This made me realize how much I was missing by multi- tasking on my device.
Before her phone broke, we were slave walking.
Slave walking is walking around working excessively hard on devices without being attuned to your surroundings. Alternatively, savoring walking involves walking around paying close attention to as many positive sights, sounds, smells, or other sensations as you can.
Benefits of Savoring Walking
“Making a conscious effort to notice and explicitly acknowledge the various sources of joy around us can make us happier,” write Bryant and Joseph Veroff in the book Savoring.
In a study , participants who took Savoring Walks daily for a week reported greater increases in happiness than participants who went for walks as usual.
In addition to making you feel good, becoming more attuned to your surroundings can also give you more opportunities to connect with other people, even if it’s just to share a smile.
Ways to Avoid Slave Walking
Turn your device on airplane mode/ leave your device at home: During your personal time, get rid of the device and be present in the moment
Schedule device time: control the time spent working on your device by limiting to a certain time of day
Journal: include detailed thoughts and feelings about your surroundings during the day
Talk about your experience: tell your family and/or friends about things you notice happening around you
Encourage others to savory walk: discuss your experiences and feelings to support each other’s shift
Have you been slave walking lately too?This is such a easy habit to fall into however once realized can be shifted quickly. Either if you were forced to shift like us or you want to proactively change; the benefits can instantly improve your quality of life.
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