Take Off the Inner Glasses and Change Your Vision

By Mark Fulton

Perhaps you’ve noticed that the photograph accompanying this column has changed. If you haven’t, shame on you for your poor powers of observation. I had laser eye surgery in late July and was liberated from my glasses. OK, I’ve just gotten around to having my picture taken without the specs, so go ahead and lecture me about time management.

Aside from transforming my image from that of a slightly nerdy-looking, mild-mannered writer to that of a media stud-muffin, my newfound freedom from glasses has inspired me to contemplate the concept of vision with a broader perspective.

We all wear mental spectacles — a whole set of them, in fact. They are the lenses through which we scrutinize the world around us. Our values, convictions, customs, prejudices, experiences and appetites are some of the tools we’ve come to trust for our perception of reality.

Most of those tools are quite comfortable and functional, and we are loath to give them up. Even when we do manage to cast aside a petty prejudice or a destructive appetite, we often find ourselves groping for it in moments of uncertainty or desperation.

Viewing our lives with clarity and precision requires us to adjust how we see the people, conditions and events that form the landscape of our daily walk. Off come the rose-colored glasses and cool shades of our biases, even though the harsh daylight of honest appraisal makes us squint a little. Then, if we really focus hard on the scenery, we will begin to discern some details that we’ve been missing in our mad dash to our personal mecca.

However, I’m suggesting an even more proactive approach to vision correction than just casting aside our preconceptions. What would happen if you got radical and actually reshaped your inner eyeballs?

Suppose you zapped the way you see something that you deal with every day — an employee, for example — and replaced that image with a completely new mental portrait. Maybe you’d notice talents you never saw before. You might even find it easier to accept his idiosyncrasies or appreciate her personality.

There’s nothing like discovering new facets of a person you’ve known for years to give you a fresh infusion of understanding and esteem.

If you occupy a leadership role, clear vision is even more critical to the health of your organization. This is especially true if you are going to gaze into the future and set your sights on important goals. Keen discernment is a must when you are trying to see the road ahead. Your people look to you to look out for them, so if you want to lead the pack, you’d better have sharp peepers.

Performing laser surgery on your foresight can be frightening. It means reshaping old thinking patterns, cutting out timeworn methodologies and trusting new technologies. As with any surgery, there is the risk that unforeseen complications can occur, but sometimes you have to shut your eyes in order to see.

Some leaders just don’t get this at all. Just ask former President George Bush, who never quite got a handle on “the vision thing,” as he called it.

My dependence on glasses dated back to my high school years and persisted through three ill-fated attempts at wearing contact lenses. Yet my sense of freedom following the laser surgery was accompanied by an unusual feeling of loss and incompleteness. In fact, I still wake up and fumble for the glasses that no longer sit on my night table.

Likewise, there is always a price tag on new insights into ourselves, our relationships and our roles in the big picture. The cost may involve leaving your emotional comfort zone, opening your eyes to new ideas, rethinking old practices and being willing to visualize how things would look if you changed your point of view.

You have to take off the blinders of habit in order to see the full vista of possibilities that lie before you. And don’t be surprised if you catch yourself unconsciously reaching for those old lenses from time to time. Just remind yourself that you’ve swapped them for a new set of eyeballs.

Of course, finally being able to see through the murk that clouded your perceptions and shrouded your goals is a life-changing experience. Achieving a new level of clarity and focus makes it possible to set your course to a more productive future with confidence. Take it from someone who can now navigate his way to the bathroom in the middle of the night without bumping into furniture or stumbling over the dog.


© Copyright 1999 Mark S. Fulton