I was thinking recently about the phrase “the blind spot”. It became a thing probably 20 years ago, but I never really took the time to understand what it meant until I became a life coach. What are blind spots and why do we want to know?
A simple answer is that blind spots are unconscious biases. We don’t know we have them or they wouldn’t be blind spots! And everyone has them. Like most things we carry into adulthood, blind spots are caused by history, both traumatic and not. Sometimes they are a result of a comfort zone we create, even if it’s not a happy place. A comfort zone is familiar, but not necessarily healthy.
I’ve had clients realize blind spots when they are getting out of one relationship and into another that is identical to the last one. Same relationship, different physical appearance. I had another client who couldn’t handle praise and realized there was a time when someone close to them offered praise that was not genuine. It hurt so much that my client didn’t trust what anyone said when it came to praise. Traumatic and emotional? Yes. But blind spots can also just be habits we create from our own experiences. They come out of our interpretation of the world around us.
Bottom line? Realize that blind spots are part of who we have become. Once we become aware, we can begin to look at things differently and gradually let go of the habits we created that aren’t serving us. A blind spot might possibly be the reason we are not getting what we want because it may be making our focus too narrow, literally.
If you’re curious to know what yours are, ask people you trust to tell you what they notice about you. Journal what you yourself notice and seek a life coach or a therapist if you think you need help to move into a new perspective.
It’s your life. Dream. Love. Create.
Vanderslice Coaching 