Hey everyone, and welcome to TopThink. Today, we will learn how the way you walk reveals
your personality. Now, let’s begin
Walking is more complicated than simply moving your feet and swinging your arms.
The basic mechanisms that drive your body must work perfectly in tandem. Taking a single step
requires an extraordinary amount of coordination and brainpower. Given the innate complexity of
human locomotion, it’s no surprise that every person moves slightly differently.
In other words, human movements are incredibly diverse and expressive. You can move quickly,
tilting your upper body forward and exerting force with every step. Perhaps you take a
leisurely stroll, swinging your arms and relaxing your shoulders. These are just
two of the countless variations you perform and encounter every time you move about the world.
Even more impressive is that your brain learns how to distinguish between the many kinds of movement
in the world around you. For instance, you may memorize the bodily movements of your friends
and family members. Similarly, your brain has various tools to analyze the movements of people
you’ve never met before. Say you get into an argument with a stranger on the street. Your brain
instinctively interprets their movements to gauge their emotional state, detect danger, and, if
necessary, activate its fight or flight response. Hidden beneath the complexity of human motion is
something even more extraordinary. For years, studies have investigated a possible correlation
between your walk and personality. It’s important to differentiate here between your personality
and your mood. Your mood indicates a temporary emotional state, while your personality describes
enduring traits that encompass who you are. It’s no secret that your mood affects the way
you move. When you’re happy, you have a bounce in your step, almost like you’re dancing or skipping.
On the other hand, when you’re sad, you may hunch your back, drag your feet, or lower your head. But
does your walking style reveal similar information about your greater personality?
It turns out that every person has a consistent set of qualities that define
their style of motion. Regardless of your mood, these quirks will always characterize
your individual walk. For example, someone who walks quickly will always walk at an
above-average rate, even if their mood changes. Here’s another example. Imagine the walking
style of someone who favors a particular side of their body. Whether they’re happy or sad,
they naturally drift to one side every time they walk. In other words, changing their
mood isn’t going to stop them from drifting one way or the other. Why? Because veering in one
direction is essential to their style of motion. If this theory is true, a person’s walking style
may be a legitimate measure of their personality. Therefore, it’s possible to draw accurate
conclusions about other people’s personalities by watching the way they walk. Interestingly,
a study from the Journal of Nonverbal Behavior tested this very question. Can you make accurate
assumptions about someone’s personality based on their walking style? According to the data,
the answer is a resounding yes. Of course, we’re not talking about
any old personality traits. For something to become essential to your walking style,
it needs to be a significant personality trait — a trait that is, in some ways,
fundamental to who you are. By analyzing your walk, you may discover core personality traits
that lie at the center of who you are. Before we dive into those specific
characteristics and how they relate to your walking style, there’s one more thing you need
to do. As strange as it sounds, you need to watch yourself walk because most people don’t
know what their walking style looks like. It’s not something we typically pay attention to.
So, take a short video of yourself walking across a room or down a sidewalk. Don’t think too hard
about it. Relax, and walk like you normally would. Once you’ve recorded your natural gait,
spend a few minutes thinking about why you walk the way you do. What early conclusions can you
draw based solely on how you walk across a room? If you look carefully, you might already notice
elements of your personality shining through. Now that you know what your walk looks like,
it’s time to explore which minor variations in your walking style determine your core personality
traits. Perhaps the best place to start… is your walking speed. One of the first things you notice
about anyone’s walking style is how fast they are moving. Are they racing from place to place,
or do they move at a slow, leisurely pace? Whether they’re going slow or fast,
the speed of their walk demonstrates two different kinds of personalities.
Let’s start with the fast walkers. These are the people who are always at the head
of the pack, walking ten steps in front of everybody else. If you are a fast-walker,
you are a fundamentally outgoing person. You’re diligent and conscientious, and you’re more
extroverted than most because at the center of your personality is a strong desire to do and
experience more. Fast-walkers tend to be more courageous than the average person, which gives
them more confidence to take risks and pursue their ambitions without hesitation. They also
tend to be leaders and trendsetters who inspire others with their high energy and openness — all
of which you can see in the speed of their gait. So, what if you’re the kind of person who lags
behind? Slow walkers tend to be more cautious and self-centered. They’re especially mindful
of their position in the world, and they usually take a more measured approach to any problems they
face. Unlike fast walkers, who throw themselves into the fray, slow walkers place more emphasis
on their physical and emotional safety. Above all, a slow walker wants to do things the right way,
even if that means gaining less ground than someone who rushes into new experiences.
Of course, walking speed is just one of the many variables involved in your unique walking
style. The speed of your gait reveals secrets about your lifestyle and social skills, but
there are other qualities of your gait that lend themselves to very different personality traits.
For example, people who take relaxed, evenly spaced steps are generally calm
and emotionally secure. They maintain control under pressure because they have developed a
strong sense of who they are. These individuals don’t feel rushed to get from place to place,
nor do they are they frequently seek the validation of others. Instead,
they keep their muscles loose and their steps light because they are confident in who they are.
These qualities all revolve around the movement of your legs, but other parts of the body
significantly contribute to your walking style. For instance, you might look at the position of
your weight over your legs. According to some studies, even minor differences in this position
of your weight signify significant variations in personality. People who walk with their
weight forward, almost like they are charging ahead, usually have assertive and deliberate
personalities. You don’t mind bumping into someone or rushing around a corner as long as you get
where you need to go. Unsurprisingly, people who walk with their weight forward tend to walk faster
and harder than the average person. Not only are you assertive, but you have grand ambitions
and the willpower to make your goals a reality. On the other hand, someone who walks in a more
balanced position, with their chest and shoulders directly above their legs, is typically kind,
humble, and mild-mannered. Balanced walking styles signify a calm and well-balanced
personality. These individuals tend to focus more on their personal lives than their careers,
and they’re often humble to a fault. Sometimes, their kindness and simplicity go unnoticed,
so it’s easy for stronger, louder personalities to take advantage of their good natures.
These three qualities are fundamental to the way you walk. Everyone walks at a certain pace, exerts
a force on the ground, and shifts the position of their weight… but not all walking styles are
so universal. For example, multitasking is one of the most revealing qualities. While walking,
some people like to talk on the phone, eat a snack, or even turn their footsteps into
a game. You might count your steps in rhythm or watch where your feet land on the sidewalk. If
this sounds familiar, you are a positive and enthusiastic person. You have a busy brain
and a proactive spirit, which suggests high levels of creativity and a vivid imagination.
Like multitasking, veering in one direction is another telltale sign of one unique personality
type. People who veer in one direction, especially the left, are typically anxious and
worrisome. This comes from a recent study in which participants were blindfolded and asked to walk in
a straight line. The most anxious people veered to the left, often because they were worried
they weren’t walking in a straight enough line. More than likely, you identified with multiple
things in this video. You may be a slow walker with heavy steps and a pension
for multitasking. You may be a fast walker who leans forward but veers heavily to the
left. Whatever your walking style looks like, you’ve discovered something deeply personal
about yourself. But that doesn’t mean your walking style is permanent or unchangeable.
For example, let’s say you are a slow, nervous walker, but you’re not happy with the impression
your walking style gives. If you practice walking more confidently, you may see changes, not only in
your walking style but in your entire personality. No matter how much your style changes over time,
one thing will almost always remain the same. Your walking style will still be an accurate
representation of who you are. You may not think much about it, but there are few things more
distinct and personal than the way you walk. Thank you for watching TopThink and be
sure to subscribe because more incredible content is on the way.