Are You Missing What's Right in Front of You? (2024)

Earlier this year, I was walking along the beach with my teenage son, hunting for sand dollars. We were laser-focused, scanning the sand for those round, delicate treasures. Over 20 minutes, we found about 15, excitedly comparing our finds as we walked. When we caught up with friends ahead of us, they asked, “Did you see all those funny red crabs dancing in the sand?”

My son and I exchanged puzzled looks. Crabs? What crabs? We hadn’t seen a single one.

At first, we thought they were teasing, but as we retraced our steps, we were stunned. The sand was alive with hundreds of little red crabs darting in and out of their holes—crabs we had completely missed because we were so focused on sand dollars.

This left me wondering: How often do I miss what’s right in front of me because I’m so focused on something else?

The Psychology of What We See (and Don’t See)

Our moment of beachcomber blindness exemplified selective perception, a psychological phenomenon where attention narrows, causing us to overlook other things. It wasn’t that the crabs weren’t there—they were. But my son and I were so intent on finding sand dollars that we literally didn’t register seeing the crabs.

Selective perception is a double-edged sword. While focus is crucial for achieving goals, it can also blind us to what we’re not actively paying attention to.

This phenomenon is famously illustrated in The Invisible Gorilla by Christopher Chabris and Daniel Simons. In their study, participants were asked to watch a video and count how many times players passed a basketball. Most became so focused on the task that they completely missed a person in a gorilla suit walking through the scene. The takeaway? We tend to notice only what we’re looking for and overlook everything else.

The Monkey Business Illusion at Work and in Life

Selective perception happens daily, often unnoticed. For example:

• In the workplace, managers may become so focused on hitting quarterly targets that they overlook signs of burnout in their team. Or they may fail to spot a disruptive innovation that could upend their industry, blinded by their preoccupation with current operations.
• In our personal lives, we might focus so intently on achieving a specific goal—like buying a house, earning a promotion, or planning the "perfect" holiday celebration—that we miss opportunities for connection, joy, or growth along the way.

While focus is valuable, our complex world demands a broader perspective. The challenge is balancing focus with the ability to notice the other treasures we might miss.

How to Spot What You’re Missing

If we want to avoid the pitfalls of selective perception, we need strategies to broaden our awareness. Here are three ways to help you see what’s right in front of you:

1. Take Intentional Pauses to Broaden Your View

One of the simplest ways to catch what you’re missing is to intentionally pause and scan your environment. On the beach, a simple pause to look up from the sand dollars might have revealed the crabs earlier. At work, this could mean taking time during meetings to ask broader questions like, What haven’t we considered? What else is happening here that might impact us?

In his book Thinking, Fast and Slow, Daniel Kahneman describes how our minds are wired to focus on immediate tasks but struggle with broader, slower reflection. Building in moments to deliberately widen your focus helps you overcome this limitation.

Try this: Set a timer to pause for five minutes during any task to reflect on what you might be overlooking. Ask yourself, Am I focusing too narrowly? What’s happening around me that I might be missing?

2. Invite Diverse Perspectives

Our blind spots are often shaped by our own biases and limited experiences. Bringing in fresh perspectives can help you notice things you might otherwise miss. In business, this might mean inviting team members from different departments to weigh in on a decision. In life, it could mean asking a trusted friend or mentor for their take on a situation.

The crabs on the beach were obvious to our friends because they weren’t focused on sand dollars. Their broader perspective allowed them to notice what we had missed. The same principle applies in any context—sometimes, someone else’s vantage point can reveal things hiding in plain sight.

Try this: The next time you’re working on a project or making a decision, ask someone outside your immediate circle for their observations. What do they see that you don’t?

3. Practice Flexible Attention

In psychology, there’s a concept called attentional flexibility, which is the ability to shift focus between the big picture and the details as needed. This skill allows you to zoom in when necessary but also zoom out to see the broader landscape. Developing this flexibility can help you avoid getting stuck in tunnel vision.

One way to build this skill is through mindfulness practices. Mindfulness trains your brain to become more aware of the present moment, increasing your ability to notice what’s happening around you. Whether it’s a daily meditation practice or simply taking a few deep breaths and observing your surroundings, mindfulness helps expand your field of awareness.

Try this: Before diving into a task, spend two minutes observing your surroundings. Notice what’s happening around you—sounds, movements, or details you might usually overlook.

The Balance Between Focus and Awareness

As I walked back along the beach, a mix of awe and sheepishness washed over me. The crabs I had completely missed earlier were now scuttling everywhere. They’d been there all along, sharing the same path—but I was too focused to see them.

It was a powerful reminder that while focus is essential, it’s equally important to balance it with curiosity and awareness. Whether we’re searching for beach treasures, holiday magic, or chasing goals in life, the key is to stay open—not just to what we’re seeking, but to the unexpected joys we might be overlooking.

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