Blinded by the obvious: How it can impact your success

Today, i was so fixated on my goals that i miss read some information sent to me which cost me time. My brain tricked me into thinking it was something else when it was right there in front of me.

Can you spot the difference below. Easy wasn't it?

It is like a frog put in cold water. When the heat gradually gets turned up they don't jump out and die. This is more related to visual cues but you get my point.

It is called Inattention Blindness/Change Blindness

Bruce Lee once said "it is like a finger pointing to the moon; Don't concentrate on the finger or you will miss all it's heavenly glory."

Some times we focus on things so much that we don't see anything else that is going on around us. The social cues, details, the obvious stuff that if not looked at closely can have big consequences.

Framing

We tend to see things from a singular
perspective. The challenge is that perspective might not be the complete picture. Get other people involved to challenge your way of thinking. You may have left the detail out which is vital.

Urgency

Speed can be a paradox. Moving faster can create additional problems that take extra time to solve. Sometimes, you have to work slow to go fast. Again taking some time away from the project or task, bringing others in or contingency planning can help identify risks.

This can allow you to put Plan B's in place making sure if something goes wrong, you can be resillent.

Lesson learnt for me today. Time out is needed from time to time.