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Originally Posted by edith  Does anybody here ever have the feeling that someone is watching them and then you turn and find someone is?? Or you turn your head involuntarily, or so it seems, and catch someone looking at you? I find that so weird. How does that happen? |
I do experience that but I think it is mere coincidence. I am less likely to feel that when I'm in a crowded room. The state of being in the room with few people triggers the feeling of being unsafe and being watched. It is also likely for others to look at you since there are not much people around.
Going back to the original topic, from my personal experience, I've got motivated in some cases but demotivated in the others.
For example, while jogging with my friends, I seldom gave up in the middle of the way and frequently ended up hitting the target which I had loudly told my friend the day before. Being mindful of being watched, I was
burning the ship to help me easily force out negative thoughts as soon as they came into my mind.
On the other hand, being watched forces us to run exactly on the our pre-defined track to the target goal, which might turn out to be a long way to go. We will tend to be safe in the way of performing the task instead of considering possible shortcuts. If involved in a creative task, I think being watched would be more a nuisance.
Of course, above are cases when we are physically watched by someone else. If you simply visualize that you are being watched, in fact by yourself, you basically take responsibility and accountability of what you are doing. And I agree with Eric that this internal motivation is healthier since it is independent of the environment you are in. More importantly, you can adjust your level of criticality, which determines whether it is a fear or a motivation. Like magi12 said, thinking of someone who are there to support, feedback and help you along the way would definitely help.