The Blind Spot

Amy, in our Development office at Cherry Street said the other day; 'I know this will end up in your blog'. When she said that, I was fairly certain it would not - but as in most things, Amy got it right.

The thing she got right?


On Thursday of this week, and in my car to go home for the evening, I drove right into a steel pole in the parking lot. While it was all of three feet of distance from park to crash, it caused considerable damage to the front of the car. The funny thing (funny boo-hoo, not funny ha-ha) is that I've driven AROUND that pole for nearly nine years. I acknowledged it's existence long ago and was aware of it's ability to be a steel pole.

By the way, the pole is fine. It just gave me a wink and kept standing.

In my case with the steel pole, as in most instances where barriers are concerned, most of us already have a good sense of where barriers are in our lives and have a reasonable appreciation for what they're capable of. However, not all barriers are that way. Some barriers show up in the most unusual places and at the most unexpected times, and some barriers are hidden deep within you.

A barrier is; 'Anything that restrains or obstructs progress or access; a limit or boundary of any kind'. The fact is, we all have them.

I was talking with a good friend of mine this week. A retired judge with considerable wisdom, we were debating terms and definitions of a project we're working on ... yes, I was debating terms and definitions with an attorney. Frankly when I'm in conversation with him I imagine myself sitting in front of a talking encyclopedia. The sheer wealth of information he holds is staggering and the joy of learning from him is one of my few delights.

But here's the problem.

As is with me and you, my friend's immense knowledge and body of work that accompanies that same knowledge has become a barrier. His objection in our debate took me by surprise. His barrier showed up in our conversation unexpectedly and in an unusual place in our relationship.

His long held view, though right in principle is wrong in practice as it stands in contrast to present day realities - in short, his vast experience on the bench and in practice have become an obstruction that may limit access or progress.

The good news is, he is working it out. He has been around long enough to acknowledge a barrier when he sees one, especially when it's with him.

Can you say the same thing? Are you able to see the barrier within you? Not so much the external barriers - like my steel pole, or the unexpected barriers like I found in the relationship with my friend, but the hidden barriers that are in you - the barriers in your blind spot.

Here's today's question; 'Are you, your own obstruction to access or progress?'

If we all have barriers, then we all have blind spots - for sure! But if you're not desperate in the right kind of way then you won't be able to navigate well around those barriers because 'blind spot barriers' need the subsidy of a trusted friend or ally.

In fact, you may have desperation right now but your desperation my be about the fact you keep hitting the same barrier - again, you're repeated crashing suggests its in your blind spot - you can't see it - you need someone else to help ... hello?

Desperation creates friction, friction creates traction and traction creates movement.

Get desperate about the right thing though. Be desperate enough to expose yourself to someone else who has a 'line of sight' to your barrier. Oh my friend its scary to allow someone else to provide specific navigation around your barriers. But the alternative is to continue allowing your future to look like your past. Without trusted companionship you'll keep running into the same barrier.

Wouldn't it be great when my car comes out of the shop this week, I don't drive into the same pole?

Dan
A Runner