”Discovery consists not in seeking new lands but in seeing with new eyes.” – Marcel Proust
Do you see what I see?
Maybe. Maybe not.
I may look at a problem and say, “I see the solution. It’s obvious.”
Someone else may look at the same problem and say, “I don’t get it. What’s the problem?”
We’re looking at the same exact thing, yet we see something completely different because we each have a different perspective. We may also be paying attention to different things.
Here’s an example. How many times do the players in white pass the basketball in the video below? Please don’t read further until after you watch the video.
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How many passes did you count? 14? 16?
Did you see the gorilla walk across the screen? I missed him the first time. When I went back and watched the video again, the gorilla was obviously there. Why did I miss him?
We see what we pay attention to…and the video told me to pay attention to the passes.
What do you pay attention to when work, play, train, drive or compete? Are you paying attention to the anomaly (e.g. the gorilla) or are you focused on the process (e.g. counting the number of ball passes)?