Right Under My Nose

by Judy Ryan

“Developing an awareness of life beyond your immediate surroundings brings a healthy restlessness, which, if infused with peace and used well, can be a foundation for positive change in the world.” -Dadi Janki, Brahma Kumaris chief

Chances are you started your business to provide a valuable service to the community and are seeking to do your work with excellence. And more often than not, in the stress of life, you may not see possibilities that support your best efforts right in front of you. Most people are not fully receiving information, resources and support because of our tendency to be on autopilot, operating in a blind spot. Here’s an example of my own recent blind spot that inspired this article. I was driving between client meetings today, noticing my neck was out of adjustment and wondering whether I could schedule a session with my chiropractor or massage therapist. About two hours later, as I was driving home, it dawned on me that my good friend Phyllis, visiting from Dallas and staying at my house, had once been a practicing chiropractor. I failed to recognize her, a resource right under my nose, because I had my own idea of what was possible and blotted other options from my awareness.

Researchers call this “perceptual blindness” – when we are so focused on one thing that we fail to see obvious information, circumstances and support right in front of us. Another factor could be what Brené Brown refers to as our often-unconscious need to be certain so we don’t feel vulnerable and risk being seen as imperfect. I consider that we are all programmed and adopt our own private logic that we believe is the truth.

Reflecting on this led me to think of other instances in which people fail to see opportunities when they show up in clear sight. For example, last week I was coaching a client who asked for help to overcome limiting beliefs blocking his financial success. Next he told me about a motorcycle he wanted to buy. As I was leaving, I shared some promising new business prospects and said offhandedly: “Who knows! I may just end up buying you that motorcycle myself.” His reply was instantaneous and unconscious: “Oh no, I wouldn’t let you do that!” I looked at him and said, “Hmm … here is a possibility of financial gain showing up even if just in jest, and you reject it without hesitation or awareness because it appeared in the guise of an unexpected and unexplored possibility and a vulnerable one.”

At a workshop a few days before this, I delivered an exercise I have facilitated over a hundred times, and yet when a participant offered a solution no one else has ever offered (including me), I realized the option had been viable and available all along. In another example, a woman under duress was supported but because of her stress level, she did not recognize that support. What causes us to miss the many possibilities available to us that would enhance our business, and what can we do to help ourselves to open to, see and leverage them?

Here are a few suggestions:

1. Assume you are (sometimes, OK often, OK almost always) operating from a blind spot. Drop certainty; instead invite in vulnerability, and appreciate that there is much you don’t know.

2. Foster consistent curiosity. Too often, we accept circumstances at face value without diving deeper where the greater adventures and opportunities are to be found.

3. Build your intellectual endurance. As you encounter challenges, don’t give up after only a few tries or within the first 10 minutes. Build a commitment to finding numerous options. We have an instant gratification culture, but that’s not where the joy of accomplishment is often experienced.

4. Laugh at yourself. Enjoy the fact that you are a limited human being and you are no less worthy for it; don’t take yourself or anything too seriously.

5. Nurture emotional and social intelligence. Adopt practices like pausing and breathing in a manner that helps you pause and recognize creative options you would otherwise miss.

Owners, community leaders and educators hire Judy Ryan and Lifework Systems because they want the advantages of an extraordinary workplace. Judy’s book, “What’s the Deal With Workplace Culture Change?” is available FREE at www.GetMyCultureBook.com. You can also contact Judy at 314-239-4727.