The Power and Importance of Blindspots

Blindspots in our awareness can have devastating effects upon our lives. Blindspots can be bad for business, health and personal wellbeing.

• Business and Finance - The recent Global Financial Crisis was a blindspot that caused havoc for millions. In business, blindspots are commonly known as inefficiencies, poor employee morale, or unproductive investments that can end in bankruptcy.
• Wellbeing and relationships - Research reveals that the majority of relationship breakups are initiated by women, and that men usually don't see them coming. Many men report being caught off-guard and left feeling bereft and suicidal. "In a study of 4000 suicides ... 70 per cent were caused by relationship breakups. Men were more likely to commit suicide than women by a factor of nine to one."1
• Health - Cancers, and other illnesses are example of blindspots in our awareness that can lead to physical impairment and death.
• Accident and injury-  With the latest research from the field of quantum physics, we can appreciate and learn to use the deeper interconnections of events, both good and bad. That is, we can learn to check for the ubiquitous (albeit subtle) nonlocal2 signals that can help us avoid danger, accident and injury.

By their very nature, blindspots are difficult to spot - hence the name. But as the world recently witnessed, their effects are highly visible and almost impossible to ignore. Blindspots can remain blind to us on approach, but prove devistating on arrival.

How can we better see and benefit from blindspots?

In business and in all areas of life, blindspots can be identified, avoided or utilised by

1. asking questions about our present map (e.g. of business processes, of science, of ourselves and current reality) to see where it is deficient, incorrect, counter-productive or out-of-date.
2. Having or developing a better 'map' of life, to better navigate, benefit and profit from opportunities and coming events that otherwise would remain blind to us.
3. Having a strong sense of safety, wellness and desired lifestyle qualities in the future, which will then provide the necessary intuitions to get there.
4. Recognising that it is not wants, faith or beliefs that are the engine of reality creation, but expectation. Noticing the gap between what we want and believe, to that of what we actually expect will occur is vital to shifting into our desired futures.

Blindspots can be likened to black-holes that are best identified by their effect upon surrounding bodies - upon quality of life. It is often a waste of time and energy to attempt to see directly into a blindspot (or black-hole) by asking "what is wrong with me". Far better to ask "what do I want?" and "what does a higher quality of life look like, for me?" - the answers may mean an improved relationship with one's partner, family and work colleagues; improved health; new understanding and habits etc.

Sometimes a blindspot is likened to being an 'elephant in the room' - it has a large effect, causing considerable inconvenience, cost and frustration for all, but with no one dealing directly with the problem. Another way of recognising blindspots is that life feels like we're walking on eggshells -- we're afraid of upsetting someone, due to shared blindspots (belief-systems) rooted in fear, powerlessness, limitation, scarcity and competition.3 The best strategy in dealing with blindspots (or elephants in rooms, or when walking on egg-shells), and one that guarantees results in the long-term, is to focus first on quality of life - this forces those blockages between 'now' and a more fulfilled or successful future to become more evident. Focusing first on quality starts to uncloak both positive and negative blindspots in our awareness, to become more evident, real and, if negative in nature, problematic and needing correction.

Creativity is an example of how positive blindspots are used in everyday life. By seeking higher quality of life, we invite surprise, original thoughts, ideas and beneficial circumstances to assist in our growth, development and productivity.

1. Business blindspots

Areas and behaviours that include inefficiency blindspots include:

• micro-managing others
• inadequate or improper delegation
• poor time-keeping, lack of focus on objectives
• not having identified the S.M.A.R.T criteria for projects, or business goals.
• "reinventing the wheel" -- for existing process templates that exist for your industry or niche
• not tracking costs, waste, or relying on poor stock-management
• allowing "project creep" to reduce margins, profitability
• poor structure (e.g. inadequate systems & processes that don't enable quality customer service and care),
• poor flexibility (e.g. good systems that have become too entrenched, reducing responsiveness and quality of customer service and care).

The Belief Doctor recommends 'Brain in a Box' to help identify and alleviate many of these issues. Ready-made process templates are now available for builders, plumbers and smash-repair houses. More at Brain in a Box.

• 1. Source: Richard Yallop, “Macho man pressure blamed for suicides,” The Weekend Australian, News Ltd., June 13-14, 1998, page 27 - citing research by Professor Pierre Baume, head of the Australian Institute for Suicide Research and Prevention at Brisbane’s Griffith University.
• 2. "immediate, unmediated (nonlocal) connections are present not only in rare and exotic circumstances, but underlie all the events of everyday life. Non-local connections are ubiquitous because reality itself is non-local." Dr Nick Herbert, Quantum Reality
• 3. Competition is reliant on limited supply.

  Despite appearances to the contrary, competition relies on deeply cooperative, creative and adaptive eco-systems that are interdependent.