“Blind spots (defined in the context of personal development) refers to the aspects of ourselves we aren’t fully conscious of. This can refer to a broad spectrum of different things — our traits, values, actions, idiosyncrasies, habits, feelings, thoughts, etc.”
“Well, you know, some of our women members feel that you are intimidating,” my husband shared.
“WHAT? Me?” I disagreed internally. How could they think that?
At that time, I was blind to the fact that my driven, task-oriented nature needed to be tweaked if I was ever going to be able to minister to the women in the church that my husband pastored.
John Maxwell says that a blind spot is an area in someone’s life in which he continually fails to see himself or his situation realistically. This unawareness can often cause great damage to him and the people around him…or her, in my case. Rather than bringing these women into closer relationships, I was pushing them away. I had to learn to become more relationship oriented then, and still have to work on that today.
Identifying our blind spots and understanding them heightens our self-awareness, which is a necessary part of our personal growth. When we develop a greater self-awareness, it means we get to experience greater self-mastery, better relationships and more influence.
Blind spots aren’t necessarily negative traits or weaknesses, although they can be. When we are oblivious to something, it is quite likely that we have never worked on it before, which leaves an opportunity for improvement. A blind spot also serves as an invisible boundary that limits what you can do.
For example, if we are not aware that we have poor time management skills, we will exhibit poor planning and prioritization, without knowing that it’s just because we aren’t skilled at time management. If we are not aware that we have poor communication skills, we may often feel frustrated when communicating with others.
When we uncover our blind spots and actively work on them, we become more conscious of our strengths and growth opportunities. We can also discover where our blind spots may be preventing us from moving forward into our full potential. If we don’t uncover these blind spots, we will never be able to work on them, simply because we aren’t aware of their existence.
How do we uncover blind spots? First, we need to be open to the fact that we have them. I believe that blind spots are glaringly evident to those around us. We might not see them, but others do. The difficult part is to be open to constructive feedback from those around us.
The easier way to identify blind spots is to spend some time thinking about how we want to be perceived by people around us. And how would we like to communicate and interact with others? How do we want people to feel in our presence? Take time to notice our impact on others. Where do we see or feel resistance in our lives? Is there an issue that continually pops up that brings us discomfort?
When we identify, or someone helps us identify a blind spot, be grateful. Know that this is an opportunity for growth. This grows our self-awareness and our self-leadership. As we grow and improve, our influence grows and our relationships improve, as well. It’s really something to look forward to!
Keeping an eye out,
Jan
Jan McDonald
John Maxwell Team
www.johncmaxwellgroup.com/janmcdonald
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