One of the very first things every motorcycle rider learns is to keep their eyes directed down the road as this gives them time to react to the environment around them. Interestingly, when we humans are nervous or afraid, we tend to direct our gaze to our immediate surroundings. On a bike it’s just a foot or two ahead of the front wheel. This has the effect of making everything seem like it’s coming at you faster, heightening your anxiety, and indeed giving you less time to react to unforeseen circumstances.
When we feel vulnerable or just unhappy in our daily lives, we tend to do the same – focus on what’s right around us. Conversely, when we are at ease, we naturally look outside ourselves, our horizons expand. With this understanding, I think there is a way to use this to our advantage.
Consider this: when we are happy, we smile (of course). But studies have shown that it can also happen in reverse – we can actually induce happiness by manipulating our facial muscles into a smile. The association must be so strong that our brains treat cause and effect as interchangeable.
I have a lot of opportunities to apply this principle on my motorcycle. I’ve become very adept at recognizing when I’m looking down in response to a scary situation; when that happens I force myself to pick up my eyes, and like magic, my stress level ebbs, and I am able to deal with the challenge in a calm manner. Doing this on the motorcycle is good practice for other parts of my life when things aren’t going well or I’m just feeling down. Manipulate my stress response, and its cause can be diluted.
What about looking back, does that play a role? Most certainly. On a bike, it means checking your rearview mirror to ensure that your buddies are still with you. Here, the parallels to life off the bike persist.
If you’ve read any of my other posts, you’ve likely noted that I’m very much about the future and the adventures I hope to experience in my 3rd third. But I got a very good reminder that the past – what’s in the rearview mirror – still matters a lot! For my birthday this week, my daughters made a 30 minute movie of my first two thirds, and it included pictures from throughout my life and messages from my dearest friends and family. One of the clips was from my oldest friend (48 years!) who introduced the metaphor of the literal and figurative rearview mirror. It all served as a timely reminder of how rich my life has already been and how I am very much a product of those experiences and relationships.
Yes, my 3rd third is mostly about keeping my chin up and eyes pointed down the road, but I hope to always remember to keep peeking in the rearview mirror, as life is as much about where we’ve been as it is about where we’re going.
My 3rd Third 