Imagine the following situations:
· You’re walking down the street. Everyone—and I mean everyone—is staring at you with unblinking eyes.
· You’re at the gym. Just before starting your set, you realize no one else is doing anything but looking at you. Yes, even those immersed in Entertainment Weekly.
· You’re at a 5-star restaurant. You think you’re sharing an intimate meal with someone special…only to realize “intimate” must mean everyone in the joint—form diners to busboys—is watching as you both dig in to your entrees.
What? Does bring in a proverbial fishbowl freak you out?
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| "I have this funny feeling that we're being watched..." |
Fine. Then think about one of the first times you were told you were being watched by video camera. Maybe it was a substitute teacher in 4th grade telling you the principal was watching the class. Maybe it was a parent pointing one out in a department store. The former could have been the result of a class acting up when their usual teacher isn’t there. In the latter, you may have started to get antsy and whiny from a full day of shopping for clothes. Whatever the case, it was likely brought to your attention to induce some sort of behavior change.
A few months ago I started shooting some video of myself at the gym doing some sets. My initial reason was to share some of my training with my LE coaching group. However, I found an unexpected benefit. I noticed my form instantly got better.
“Why was this?” I thought at first. I didn’t get any instant coaching on my technique. And while I know my form is off sometimes, I know the “how to” and the key coaching points. I soon realized the only thing different was the thought of the camera on me.
The weird thing is, I still had the ability to delete the video if I wanted. Just the thought, though, was enough to change my behavior and make me more conscious. Maybe the improved form wasn’t “natural”. But given enough times, it would be.
I’m not saying everyone should go out and start filming themselves all in the name of improved technique. But what if we went through workouts as if we thought we were being filmed? No. Let’s take it a step further. What if we started living as if we were on camera?
Aside from football season, I’m really not a betting man. But here are some things I bet would happen:
Gym:
· Improved technique
· Put weights away
· Wipe sweat down instead of just looking at your back and head imprint and walking away.
Eating:
· Begin with normal size portions of food on your plate
· Slower eating
· No urgency to finish everything
Life:
· Reduced conniptions
· Wash your hands every time after using the bathroom (I can’t believe I have to write this)
· Increased general respectfulness (holding doors, using words like ‘please’ and ‘thank you’, etc…)
If we just use the examples above, odds are that you’ll become a better overall person with improved gym performance and more mindful and civilized eating. If we sum that up even more, you’ll see improvements in health, performance and body comp and improve your chances of getting into Heaven. Oh, Heaven doesn’t appeal to you? Well there’s also a chance that an attractive member of the opposite sex will be watching as you help that woman whose arms are filled with groceries. To each their own.
Ron Howard is a smart guy. To pull off Opie and Richie Cunningham, you have to be. He also was onto something with The Truman Show. That film had Jim Carrey unaware his entire life is being filmed and the subject of a TV show.
Since filming yourself all day long is darn tough to do, I propose you artificially create that scenario. Channel back to your childhood and pretend a bit. Pretend that you’re being filmed. Take note of your actions. Is there a difference between what you’d normally do and how you acted when “on camera”?
I know for sure I have some differences and I plan on addressing them. Fortunately, like the movies, I’ll know I’ll have retakes until I get it right.
Quiet on the set.
"Traffic Jam Reaction"—Take two.
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