This is Part 16 of a series on vision. You can read previous installments here:
Part 1. Part 2. Part3. Part 4. Part 5. Part 6. Part 7. Part 8. Part 9. Part 10. Part 11. Part 12. Part 13. Part 14. Part 15.
No matter how good your vision, you can’t see everything. No human can. We see only visible light, unlike some creatures, which can see ultraviolet or infrared light. That means that the colors of certain flowers are invisible to us, even as other creatures on this planet get the full spectrum of nature’s beauty.
Even in what we can see, we can’t see it all. Every human being has a blind spot. This is a function of how the human eye works. Your brain fills in what is missing based on the surrounding context.
So what we “see” is a combination of what our eyes take in and what our brains fill in to complete the picture.
Our brains can only fill in the image based on what we know: our history, memory, experiences, information previously given to us, etc. Our perception is shaped by our previous experiences.
So how do we see the full picture clearly?
We must fill in our blind spots not from our own experience, but through the assistance of others who can see what we cannot see.
Instead of seeking “insights” from within your industry or your go-to circle of friends and mentors, seek “out-sights” by exploring a new discipline or recruiting guidance from a diverse group of people.
Often it’s the people outside our immediate sphere who can most clearly see what is possible for us. Similarly, newcomers to an industry often come up with the most innovative solutions to problems because they haven’t been entrenched in traditional ways of thinking.
Whether you’re solving a problem at work or creating a vision for your life, seek alternate perspectives from people who have different experiences and different conditioning than you have.