Self Awareness

Self-Awareness Can Be One of the Secrets to Success

 In talking to a business acquaintance the other day I was reminded of his strong opinions.  He is one of those people who puts up verbal roadblocks to any idea or suggestion that is not in alignment with his opinion of ‘how things should be’.  He is thereby missing new information or innovative ideas to consider because his mind is closed.

Have you ever been accused of only hearing what you want to hear or seeing what you want to see?

 Try this exercise. Ask a friend to look around and make note of everything that is green. Next, have him close his eyes. Once his eyes are closed, ask him to tell you what around him is red.

 Almost everyone you ask will not be able to tell you what was red because they were focusing on what was green. Our perceptions work the same way.

 If we have expectations or biases, we tend to see what we want to see.  Likewise, if people try to tell us something we do not want to hear, we simply do not hear them.

 With the increasing rate of change in the business environment, this is not a good time to be close-minded.  In the past, many businesses succeeded by maintaining the status quo, but in today’s marketplace, it is necessary to expand this narrow focus.

 One way to do that is to be aware of our own prejudices and expectations.