Jesus said, Matthew 7:3 (World English Bible):
"3Why do you see the speck that is in your brother's eye, but don't consider the beam that is in your own eye? 4Or how will you tell your brother, 'Let me remove the speck from your eye;' and behold, the beam is in your own eye? 5You hypocrite! First remove the beam out of your own eye, and then you can see clearly to remove the speck out of your brother's eye."
"3Why do you see the speck that is in your brother's eye, but don't consider the beam that is in your own eye? 4Or how will you tell your brother, 'Let me remove the speck from your eye;' and behold, the beam is in your own eye? 5You hypocrite! First remove the beam out of your own eye, and then you can see clearly to remove the speck out of your brother's eye."
Like the blind spot in a car's side mirrors, our blind spots may be a minefield and cause us to make huge mistakes or just not see things the way we should. I uncovered a few of my blind spots recently, things I was totally unaware of before, and now see some of my behaviour in a new way. Sometimes things that are our biggest strengths can actually also be our biggest weaknesses and translate into a huge blind spot. As Jesus said, it's often easier for us to see the faults of others than to see our own glaring faults, and these might even be bigger than the ones we are criticising in others. Our first point of change must always be with ourselves first.
I am not about to post all of my mistakes and characters failings on a public forum that is this blog, but I definitely have my own traits that need focus. There are things I should not do and there are things I should do better. I am not perfect. I am trying to change for the better as I get to know myself more and change takes time. Change is a choice and I will get to where I want to go with time, will and effort. And though I am aware of some change I need to do, there are still things about myself that I don't know or that I deny, and that others see: my blind spots. I've realised that one of my potential problems is keeping secrets: secrets from myself and secrets from others. I am not saying tell everyone your secrets, but don't let secrets own you. I have realised I sometimes put a mask on and don't speak about things that are really bothering me. Sometimes I don't even realise exactly what may be bothering me. This might mean I blame the wrong person for a problem. Have you ever experienced someone doing something wrong to you, like bullying, and then blaming the innocent bystander? Children for example may be angry with their mothers for not protecting them from bullying at school, yet may not react with anger towards the bully. We often react towards people around us from an emotional level, and the emotions may have been triggered by surrounding circumstance and not the person. Try to discover all of your blind spots so they do not own you, and you can own them. You can only change something you know about so actively seek feedback. Don't assume others know everything about themselves either, as we all have blind spots. You might see an irritating character flaw in someone else that they may be totally unaware of, and they may even be unable to change this. Give feedback tactfully especially where blind spots are concerned, to ensure you do not do emotional damage. Know that if you can't change your blind spots, at least be aware of how to manage them. Some things will just always be our weaknesses but there is power in awareness so that we can avoid using our weaknesses and instead use our strengths.
I am not about to post all of my mistakes and characters failings on a public forum that is this blog, but I definitely have my own traits that need focus. There are things I should not do and there are things I should do better. I am not perfect. I am trying to change for the better as I get to know myself more and change takes time. Change is a choice and I will get to where I want to go with time, will and effort. And though I am aware of some change I need to do, there are still things about myself that I don't know or that I deny, and that others see: my blind spots. I've realised that one of my potential problems is keeping secrets: secrets from myself and secrets from others. I am not saying tell everyone your secrets, but don't let secrets own you. I have realised I sometimes put a mask on and don't speak about things that are really bothering me. Sometimes I don't even realise exactly what may be bothering me. This might mean I blame the wrong person for a problem. Have you ever experienced someone doing something wrong to you, like bullying, and then blaming the innocent bystander? Children for example may be angry with their mothers for not protecting them from bullying at school, yet may not react with anger towards the bully. We often react towards people around us from an emotional level, and the emotions may have been triggered by surrounding circumstance and not the person. Try to discover all of your blind spots so they do not own you, and you can own them. You can only change something you know about so actively seek feedback. Don't assume others know everything about themselves either, as we all have blind spots. You might see an irritating character flaw in someone else that they may be totally unaware of, and they may even be unable to change this. Give feedback tactfully especially where blind spots are concerned, to ensure you do not do emotional damage. Know that if you can't change your blind spots, at least be aware of how to manage them. Some things will just always be our weaknesses but there is power in awareness so that we can avoid using our weaknesses and instead use our strengths.
Link to related blog articles:
No comments:
Post a Comment