Look Close, See More
When you start looking, you cannot stop seeing.
The looking in question started with birds. Whilst participating in a citizen science activity, we spent the week looking for, and counting, the birds in our local neighbourhood. The week ended and I find myself seeing birds everywhere. By seeing, I don’t mean the passing glance at the birds that frequent our garden, that I see out walking, or those flying overhead. By seeing, I don’t mean hearing their birdsong as background music and knowing they are out there somewhere. I would say I’ve developed an eagle eye for bird activity, taking in the species, the numbers, their habits and much more.
In the space of a week, I have trained myself to look closely at birds, and now I cannot help to see them.
This is a common cognitive phenomenon, or frequency bias, that we humans experience.
And, it is a useful one to tap into for benefits in our work and life.
When we start looking for examples of things done well, we cannot stop seeing all that is done well.
When we start looking for positive behaviour, or random acts of kindness, we cannot stop seeing all of these behaviours.
When we start looking for moments of gratitude, we cannot stop seeing the gratitude moments.
When we start looking for [fill in the blank] ….
It feels good to know that if we want to see more of something in our work and life, we can start by looking for it.
Here, take my magnifying glass …
I’m curious, what do you see?