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This is post #1 in my blog series, “Uncovering Our Blind Spots in Life and Business.” I hope this series will inspire you to see yourself differently and open up new perspectives. My goal is also to help us improve ourselves, so we can achieve new heights in our personal and professional lives.
To be fully transparent (no pun intended), I lost sight in my right eye in 2008. It was caused by a detached retina that worsened over time—not by accident or injury. It was simply years of delaying an instructed visit to an ophthalmologist because I was so “busy.” My disregard for scheduling the appointment, as I was instructed to do, caused irreparable damage.
Although I had one of the best surgeons in the area perform the eye surgery, I have been unable to regain sight in my right eye to this day. This has obviously impaired my peripheral vision. I had to learn how to adjust my actions to accommodate the loss of sight. I have literally bumped my head on occasions when I failed to remember to back up and look before moving. Although I have lost partial physical sight, I continue to gain insight into myself year after year.
I’ve realized that many of us are very “busy” in life and work. But we must learn to prioritize what is most important. I thought working as an entrepreneur was vital to my well-being and taking time off to see a general Optometrist was sufficient. I ignored the direction of the Optometrist to see an Ophthalmologist (a specialist in diagnosing and treating eye and vision conditions) because, in my mind, my vision was basically okay. I only had a few floaters (small, dark shapes that float across your vision, appearing as spots, threads, squiggly lines, or cobwebs). No big deal. How wrong was I! These floaters, which I saw as minor inconveniences, were systematic of a larger problem looming that I didn’t make the time to address.
This was a major Blind Spot. I ignored guidance provided by a trained specialist and relied on my limited knowledge. I had no idea losing my eye was a potential risk to my vision. You could ask, “Did my Optometrists warn me of the pending outcome?” No, he didn’t. But if I listened and obeyed his instructions, it is most likely that this could have been avoided.
My father used to say, “A hard head makes for a soft bottom.” In essence, if I didn’t have a “hard head” and followed good guidance, I may not have faced the consequences that I am dealing with years later.
Photo by Osarugue Igbinoba
This newfound awareness is what this blog series, “Uncovering Blind Spots in Life and Business” is all about. But what exactly are blind spots, you ask?
Here’s my definition: Blind Spots are aspects of our personality, behaviors, actions, emotions, and intellect harboring unconscious biases that obstruct our perspectives or influence how we see ourselves and others.
I believe blind spots are a universal problem that can have a significant impact if not addressed. We are all aware of self-improvement courses, workshops, and conferences that cover a myriad of subjects to help our personal advancement. Yet, I am unaware of any program, university, or college that educates extensively on this topic. If some do exist, allow me to add to the cannon.
For the record, I am not a Subject Matter Expert (SME) on this topic, but I have garnered years of wisdom and knowledge about blind spots that have helped me become a better person. So I would like to share these findings and experiences with my brothers and sisters and help you invest in areas that we all struggle with, sometimes unknowingly.
How to combat blind spots
The easy solution for uncovering blind spots is to have people in our lives whom we trust — and are sometimes honest to a fault — tell us what we don’t want but need to hear. Another, perhaps more difficult answer, is being vulnerable and honest enough with ourselves to accept their feedback and make corrections that will improve some aspect of our lives.
We’ll delve into these solutions and more along this journey of Uncovering Blind Spots in Life and Business. Keep reading to see if you can relate, or not, to some of life’s most common, but challenging situations. Then maybe we can become more than the status quo and change the man or woman in the mirror!
Your thoughts and comments on this blog are welcomed and desired. If you feel the content is valuable, please share it with your friends and network. With gratitude!
We don’t see what we don’t see! We don’t know what we don’t know! Therefore, we cannot change the things in our lives that could propel us to the next level!
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