Our minds have a narrow focus. They work much more like flashlights than radiant suns. Most of the time, having a mind that naturally focuses on small areas works to our advantage. It enables us to drive a car, perform surgery, cook a meal, or write an email. Imagine trying to do any of those things while being distracted by the intense amount of information available for our minds to absorb. It would not be pretty. Especially performing surgery. “Nurse, can you hand me the knife and–oh cool, look at the light particles bouncing off that stainless steel cabinet!”
Having a pointed focus has its downside too. While our attention is locked on whatever is top-of-mind, the rest of our lives continue to roll on, unexamined and on autopilot. This is why much of who we are forms without us noticing it. Only by looking back can we get a sense of ourselves–it is never apparent in the present moment. We need time for reflection, integration, and the desire to point our narrow focus inward.
Can you see why this causes a problem?
While our eyes are forward, focused on a single objective at a time, our life and identity form in our blindspots. When we take a moment to look at our lives and ourselves, we see what’s taken shape on its own and assume that we somehow played a role in its creation. Because of that, we accept what seems to be as what is and all that is possible.
This is why we feel stuck—almost trapped in our own lives. The fixed belief that the shape of our lives and who we are is all that’s possible is a form of self-limiting thought so subtle that we rarely even notice it’s there.
The good news is that you only have to understand this once. After the idea clicks that your assumptions about what’s possible and who you can be are more like placeholders than destiny, you can start freeing yourself from the ideas that are holding you back and start doing more of what makes you feel alive.
If I’m being honest, I don’t like when people write “read that again.” because it feels like an insult to the intelligence and apprehension ability of the reader. So, I won’t say that here. But what I will do is ask that you allow yourself to let this sink in as you read it:
Keep reading with a 7-day free trial
Subscribe to Clarity with Cory to keep reading this post and get 7 days of free access to the full post archives.