Sometimes we do things, think things, and feel things without really noticing them.
Over the last couple of years I’ve become aware of a recurring back pain. It’s been on and off, and in recent months it comes to my attention when I bend down, like to load or unload the dishwasher.
And yet once a particular item catches our attention, we have the ability to see connections everywhere.
For example, when I unload the dishwasher, I put everything away except for the lunch containers. I make lunches in advance for both my son and myself, and we go through a lot of Tupperware containers. By the end of the week, the dishwasher is filled with them. I put away all the plates, bowls, glassware and cutlery, yet I set the lunch containers on the counter for my husband to stow.
I got into this habit some time in the last five years, I don’t really remember when it started. At some point I just told my husband that I can’t stand putting the Tupperware away.
The cupboard in which we stow them is prone to disorganization, and the times I’ve gone in there I’ve felt that I needed to re-stack everything so that it fit properly.
And it’s ANNOYING.
This morning I found myself thinking about that, and had a realization:
Part of the reason it’s annoying is likely that the cupboard in which we stow the lunch containers is low to the ground. It’s in the base cabinet.
I have to bend over to put the items away, and – to add insult to injury- I have to stay bent over longer than I prefer, due to the volume of items that live in there and the need (my need) for them to be stacked properly.
And it hurts my back. Which is already hurting from having unloaded the other contents of the dishwasher.
Here’s the thing: we moved into our house almost six years ago. This whole Tupperware thing had been going on for nearly that long. And yet only today did I realize that it’s the bending down part which irritates me about putting these things away.
What is a blind spot?
The dictionary definition of a blind spot is: an area where a person’s view is obstructed.
Anyone who has learned to drive a car knows that as motorists, we have a blind spot on our left-hand side, which is why we need to look over our shoulder when merging left, and not simply rely on the side-mirror.
The truth is, we have all kinds of blind spots in our lives. These are places where we are doing something, thinking something, feeling something, and we don’t even recognize it.
The good news is that even though we can’t see things in our blind spots, other people often can.
Many professionals such as coaches, therapists, and personal trainers are educated in how to assist us in identifying our blind spots. Yet beyond that, our friends, family and colleagues can also help us to identify and correct for the things that we’re not seeing.
Sometimes we just need to ask.
Who’s helping you identify your blind spots?