As someone who has lived with yourself your whole life, you are probably oblivious of your own unproductive habits.
What exactly is a personal blind spot?
Just like cars, our behaviors have some blind spots that we need to be aware of. Research has found the 10 most common personal blind spots in people, including avoiding difficult conversations and not taking a stand. Traits like refusing help even when needed, and tolerating low standards, are also some of the fixable blind spots.
Illuminating the blind spots
There are basically 5 steps you can take to minimize and eventually let go of these blind spots; ask for feedback, surround yourself with diverse thinkers, examine your past, identify your triggers, and pick a friend to keep you in check.
Read the full list of the most common blind spots and steps to contain them here.
Inattentional blindness
In his TEDx Talk on the art of cognitive blind spots, magician Kyle Eschen concluded that as humans, we have gaping blind spots “far bigger than our intuition would suggest”. This means that other than being unaware of our unproductive personal traits, our blind spots make it difficult for us to differentiate what is important and what is extraneous, as we have limited cognitive bandwidth at any given moment.
Watch the full video here.
Blind spots towards others
Not only inwards, blind spots happen outwards too. They can manifest themselves as a form of cognitive bias, where we assume things about other people based on our past experiences and not so much the objective facts. Global consulting firm PwC created a video explaining how our brains come up with these blind spots.
If you’d like to challenge yourself, they’ve also compiled a list of questions about blind spots that you can use to self-reflect. This way, not only will you become aware of the holes in your personality, but also in the way you perceive other people.
Find and answer the blind spots discussion prompts here.
