Psychological Blind Spots

I have a rare condition called occult macular dystrophy, which causes a blind spot in my central vision.

 

It’s hard to describe what my world looks like. Nothing is black because my photoreceptors still perceive light. The cone cells just don’t process visual information normally. Depending on how far away my focal point is and how bright the lighting is, the center of my visual field is a watercolor impressionist painting or a light wash of the surrounding colors.

 

Sometimes entire objects disappear into my blind spot – like they don’t even exist - and sometimes I miss-see things (as anyone who’s driven me can attest – I startle unexpectedly because my brain thinks we’re about to crash… we’re not).

 

I know that I don’t see the world the way you do.

 

But I am not the only one with blind spots.

 

Psychological Blind Spots

We all have psychological blind spots, areas in which we misperceive things, ways in which our views are distorted, aspects of our perspectives that are skewed. These psychological blind spots can be tiny little specks, harmless in nature, or they can be glaring, perhaps obvious to everyone but us. And they can show up in a number of ways and places.

 

Identity Blind Spots

Sometimes our identity - the collection of beliefs and mentally constructed rules about who we are - serves as a blind spot, preventing us from seeing ourselves as we really are.

 

This is such a silly example, but it illustrates the point.

 

My dear friend Amanda likes her science with a side of woo. While I’m not really into the metaphysical, I can suspend disbelief enough to indulge in it in much the same way I do with a good fantasy novel - I don’t believe that Allomancers are real, but that doesn’t stop me from investing wholeheartedly in the story (that’s a Sanderson reference, if you know you know).

 

All of this to say, I can entertain talk of astrology without giving it any credence, which is how I ended up in a conversation about Zodiac signs and with a new realization that I hadn’t been seeing myself accurately.

 

Amanda hosted a game night a few weekends ago. When the topic arose, I piped in, “I’m a terrible Virgo,” to which Amanda laughed. “Oh really? What, exactly, were you doing earlier?”

 

Normally, I am quite punctual, but I had been two hours late. I missed out on amazing homemade carnitas because I was knee deep in PowerPoint. I’d spent a good chunk of my Friday evening creating a slide deck for an upcoming speaking gig.

 

“And what are you doing this weekend?” she asked, driving the point home.

 

“I don’t have any plans, other than yoga tomorrow.” I always go to yoga on Saturdays, and she knows that.

 

“Of course you are, Virgo,” she said with a knowing smile, waiting for me to realize that I am, in fact, structured and detail-oriented, just like the stereotypical Virgo.

 

This was news to me.

 

I had developed blind spot judgments and beliefs as a teenager. I always thought of Virgo as the worst sign because of how it is often described - uptight, rigid, critical, and meticulous – very Type A.

 

Beyond those judgments, my present identity doesn’t fit with any of that. I don’t see myself as Type A. I am a (mostly) recovered perfectionist (or so I thought), but I see myself as flexible, fun, and go with the flow.

 

I am realizing, though, that I am also disciplined, diligent, and responsible.

 

And that’s ok. It doesn’t make me lame or rigid. Maybe my preconceived notions about Virgos were wrong, and maybe my self-perception was off.

 

Or both.

 

In other words, I’ve got some blind spots. Do you?

 

Our identities can prevent us from seeing ourselves as we really are. Any number of limiting beliefs can act as blind spots. It’s time to correct them.

 

To the beautiful person who still sees themselves as the ugly duckling, stop listening to insecurity and letting it hold you back. To the person who is always right, it’s ok to be wrong. Say I’m sorry once in a while. And to the incredibly capable person who doesn’t realize your true power, own it. Live big.

 

Cultural Blind Spots

Our basic understanding of how to be human is shaped by cultural forces – from micro cultures rooted in our families and inner circles to macro ones like our countries of origin.

 

We are aware of this on some levels, for example, that holiday traditions vary from one culture to another. On more fundamental levels, though, we have blind spots that we may not even be aware exist.

 

I love to travel. It simultaneously opens my eyes to new ways of being and doing while also affirming how very similar we all are, especially when you go even the tiniest bit beneath the surface differences.

 

Through travel, I have learned to question things I take for granted. It seems, however, that this is a lesson I need to learn repeatedly.

 

It took me an embarrassingly long amount of time to become aware of a blind spot while doing some extended travel in Costa Rica. My friend Natalie and I observed that when we ate out, our servers were incredibly attentive… until they delivered our food. Then it was like we ceased to exist. We’d sit, patiently, for quite some time after finishing our meals before eventually flagging down the server to request the check.

 

Finally, after nearly a month, we realized that everyone else got up when finished and went to the counter to get their check and pay. Because every other aspect of the dining out experience was identical to what we were used to in the U.S., we never thought to question our base assumptions. It didn’t dawn on us that bringing the check to the table might not be standard practice.

 

I felt so sheepish. I had been judging our servers negatively on the basis of my blind spot. Oops.

 

Thank goodness I never acted on those particular judgments, though we do all the time.

 

And it’s not always pretty.

 

When Blind Spots Cause Damage

I went for a run the other morning and had to swerve off the sidewalk into the road to narrowly miss being hit by a truck pulling out of a parking lot.

 

This was the fourth time I have literally had to jump out of the way of a moving vehicle to avoid being run over. I had the right-of-way of each time, and each time the drivers were focused on the road and not paying any attention to crosswalks or sidewalks.

 

Their lack of awareness could’ve seriously injured me.

 

How often do you think our psychological blind spots might do the same? How often do our misperceptions or distorted thoughts drive us to act in ways that are unbecoming at best and detrimental at worst?

 

When and how do we allow our faulty judgments of others (or ourselves) to influence how we treat them? To make decisions that do not serve society’s best interests? To deny aid to those in need? To make things harder than they need to be? To quash innovation or to be ineffective?

 

Unknowingly in the Dark

My brain does its best to fill in the missing imagery in my visual field. It does a pretty good job, so I don’t notice my blind spot as much when I’m at home or in highly familiar environments. When I’m in a new setting, however, I become keenly aware of it.

 

In those unfamiliar contexts, I know that I need to be cautious, that I need to question my perceptions because they are inevitably distorted or inaccurate.

 

I take extra steps to make sure that my blind spot isn’t going to result in harm, to myself or to someone else.

 

Unlike my visual blind spot, we’re not always aware of our psychological ones. They are shielded by our beliefs and assumptions, and our brains fill in the missing bits so we don’t notice how incomplete our impressions and perceptions are, especially if we don’t encounter and engage with new or different contexts – people, ways of thinking, beliefs, knowledge, and customs.

 

Echo chambers do not illuminate our blind spots. They mask them.

 

And that’s a problem.

 

Seeing Things Clearly

I know I don’t see the world the way that others do, and that’s a gift because knowledge is power.

 

I hope you’ll trust me when I say that you need to question. Where might your psychological blind spots be? Try to recognize your assumptions. Challenge your beliefs. Consider that you might be miss- seeing some things, too. 

 

I know it’s hard to not get defensive when someone or something calls attention to a blind spot. It’s like the possibility of being wrong, admitting fault, or owning our humanness is somehow a bad thing.

 

Perhaps, though, acknowledging the presence of a blind spot is not something to be bothered by. If we accept the fact that we all have them, we can take away blame and shame for their existence. Instead, we can make finding them, becoming aware of them, a good thing to be celebrated.

 

Psychological blind spots represent learning opportunities, growth opportunities, chances to become wiser and safer for ourselves and for the rest of the world.

 

Now, More Than Ever

This is absolutely a prediction, not a fact, but I anticipate that the next few months in the U.S. are going to be tense. As we move into election season, our blind spots are going to be on full display and crashing into each other.

 

You know to check your blind spot before switching lanes on the highway. Failing to do so could result in you crashing into someone… and it would be your fault, not theirs.

 

Check your known blind spots and, please, for the love of everything, look for new ones.

 

Before we give into fear or anger or accept judgments and predictions as facts, let’s pause to check for psychological blind spots. Consider what you might not be seeing or might not be seeing accurately. Be open enough to consider that the error might be yours and brave enough to do something about it.

Uncover Your Blind Spots

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