How obsessing over problems makes us miss solutions: diet, starups, changing the world. Inattentional blindness.

What happens when we become so fixated on our flaws that we miss the strengths hiding in plain sight? For years, I've watched people struggle with change not because they weren't trying hard enough, but because they were looking in the wrong direction.  

The science of "inattentional blindness" explains why we miss critical solutions when we're hyper-focused on problems.  

Just like participants who fail to spot a gorilla walking across a basketball court because they're busy counting passes, we miss our own strengths and resources when we're fixated on fixing what's broken. This psychological phenomenon creates a self-defeating cycle of demotivation and missed opportunities.  

Through my two decades in coaching, I've discovered that the most powerful transformations happen when we flip the script.  

Rather than obsessing over weaknesses, "awesome-based coaching" leverages what's already working. Drawing from principles developed by Precision Nutrition and my own experience transforming habits, I share practical ways to apply this strength-based approach to everything from health habits to business building.

Whether you're struggling with personal change, leading a team, or trying to transform an entire system, this episode offers a refreshing alternative to the "fix what's broken" mentality that dominates our culture. As it turns out, you don't need more discipline or willpower - you need to recognize and build upon the strengths you already possess.  

Join me in exploring how to create lasting change by focusing not on what's wrong, but on what's possible.  

Transcript

Introduction to Inattentional Blindness

Speaker 1 0:00

Hey, guys, and welcome back to another episode of Change Wired Podcast. My name is Angela Sharina, I'm your host, I'm your transformation coach and just someone who is obsessed with change of our behavior, of systems of the world, all with a purpose to help us live the most fulfilling lives and creating the most amazing world. Today, guys, we are diving into a surprising reason why most change efforts personal change, organizational change, world change fall flat. Not because people aren't trying hard enough. Not because people aren't trying hard enough, but we are myopically focused on fixing what's broken, and that actually makes us blind to what can work, for actually fixing that's what's broken. You know, I feel like today I finally understood what Einstein meant when he said we can't solve problems by staying on the same level of thinking. So today, hopefully, you'll get to understand that as well.

Speaker 1 1:13

We'll explore the science of inattentional blindness, this new term, or I love learning new terms that I learned in the book by Dan Heath Upstreamstream how to Solve the Problems Before they Happen. We'll talk about how flaw finding makes us miss what really matters, where we are strong, what can help us to actually change and get better and grow into a better future version of ourselves. We'll talk about how awesome-based coaching a term I learned at Precision Nutrition, one of the best educational institutions for coaching built by obsessed people. So why? Awesome-based coaching can help people a lot better, and also organizations and teams, to thrive, to change, to improve things and again grow into this better future version of self, whether that's self personally or organizationally or worldly. If you're ready to stop obsessing over fixing what's wrong and start focusing on building something cool, something that works, something better, this episode is for you, guys. So let's dive in. Let's start with some definitions.

Speaker 1 2:32

So inattentional blindness. I love learning new words. You know, when you learn a new cool word, it creates this additional reality, a world in your own heart, and it helps you to see better what this definition is all about. It makes your world richer. But did you know that, for example, before humans were able to see the color blue, they actually needed to invent the word for it, so the word came first before people could distinguish between green and blue. So quite fascinating Words matter, guys.

Speaker 1 3:13

So inattentional blindness, writes Dan Heath in his book Upstream, is a phenomenon in which our careful attention to one task, one thing, leads us to miss important information that's related to the same task. When it's coupled with time pressure, it can create a lack of curiosity. That's how we miss a gorilla, and there's been this experiment done. That's how people miss a gorilla running across a basketball court because they're too busy counting passes in certain teams. It's also how we might go through life, so fixating on flaws of our nature or perceived flaws as a result, stuck there and not being able to see our strengths that can actually help us to build the lives we want or to create results that we want, very often fixing that very problem that we've been so fixed on that we couldn't see the solution.

Speaker 1 4:22

I want to share with you a personal story that perhaps will help you to understand where I'm coming from and maybe just makes it more personal. I'm spending some time with my parents and my mom, my dad. As I grow up, more and more I tend to notice things that I haven't noticed before, that seemed like so natural and they became like this is how things are and either something is wrong with me or with people. But then you start, hopefully, growing up and start seeing the whole system for what it is, seeing it's kind of like from outside, and you understand ah, this is why it works and actually it's not right or wrong, it's just someone else's version of the world, so anyhow. So when I spent some time around my dad he almost never smiles in every picture or on every occasion Like it's really you could see him laugh and smile, and I never felt quite at ease around my dad and I only recently I think just yesterday realized why. Because he's always scanning for what's wrong, what's missing, what's not good enough in the world, in people and in me, and so that's why I felt not at ease, because it always makes you think what's wrong with me, what's the next thing that he's going to notice? But you know what I realized? That's probably not because of me, but because how he's been conditioned to see the world, including himself. That's just where he's myopic-y, focused, and then I understood no wonder he really smiles. If your default focus is on things that are wrong, again, including things in yourself, that makes the world a very sad place, and we're going to return to this story. But first I want you to understand how seeing that doesn't allow you to see all the good that's in the world and in you and in your own accomplishment and the strengths in other people, and again, just all the good that's already in the world. All that and again, just all the good that's already in the world.

Speaker 1 6:51

Back to my coaching. I've been in coaching for almost two decades and you know what I realized as I matured more and more I realized that focusing all our attention on what's not working, on problems, on flaws and deficiencies, is actually not the most effective way to change anything in people, organizations or the world. In fact, it's probably the least effective way and it's also deeply demotivating, especially over long term. No one leaps out of bed trying to oh, let me work on fixing myself. Like that just doesn't happen. But we do leap out of bed to create something, to build, to improve, to work on something together. And it's all about our focus, like what needs to be fixed and what we need to build, what we want to build, they exist at the same time.

Speaker 1 7:45

When we're stuck in what's wrong, we often can't see what's possible. And that back to the term of inattention, inattentional blindness or that experiment with gorillas. Like we're so focused on counting our flaws that we don't see that big strength gorilla that can help us to leap through every problem that we have. We become myopic, so laser-focused on the problem that we miss the walk around. It also reminds me of this instance on the mountain when I was so focused on the path that it led me to nowhere. I was stuck and then a friend showed me. Well, you know, a little bit upstream there is a walk around, so you should go there if you want to go further. Right? We miss the leverage points, we miss the strengths, the resources already available, because our brain is just so locked into the world as it is, with the problems and following this specific path that doesn't have a way forward, instead of asking ourselves how we got to this problem place in the first place.

Speaker 1 8:56

And maybe the solution was somewhere upstream. You know that book by Dan Heese? That's the whole point. The problem is upstream. So things stuck downstream, where you see the effect of the problem, will not lead you to the solution. And that's also probably what Einstein meant when he said that you can't solve the problem with the same level of thinking. It's not that you should change your head and your thinking, it's just you should look elsewhere. And it's very hard to do when you are focused at that thing, that blocker in front of you. You got to go upstream, right?

Speaker 1 9:33

So in coaching, one of the again one of my favorite institutions for coaching is Precision Nutrition, and they taught me this thing that's called awesome-based coaching, and it works not just for people but also in the world, organizations and systems of any sort, and it helps you to go upstream and see where the problem started, where you have a chance to actually fix it for good and for all. So awesome-based coaching it can sound like there are so many things you're doing well. It can sound like there are so many things you're doing well, so let's collaborate on how we can leverage this to make more success happen. So it's strengths-based CliftonStrengths that's one of the most successful companies in assessments, changing cultures and organizations and they're strengths, specifically strengths-based. They're getting better and better at it, so check them out. I'm doing a new assessment for my 38th birthday, but anyhow.

Speaker 1 10:37

So awesome-based coaching right, it's focusing on what's already going right, on all the resources, not on everything that is wrong, myopically again stuck in the problem instead of seeing the solution that might be somewhere upstream, and then, versus that to default model that we've been sold, flawed human-based coaching that's my invention flawed human-based coaching, and it sounds like this. Let's zero in on these couple of spots that aren't perfect. Let's get disciplined about pushing ourselves into obsessing about these couple of things until we get perfect finally get quote-unquote perfect so we finally can be okay about our own life. Isn't that funny? But also, isn't that exactly how we are taught to go through life? Just, you know, disregard everything that's working right and then zero in, become myopic about that thing that is not working and then get obsessed about it until you fix it or don't even dare to be happy in life.

Awesome-Based vs Flaw-Based Coaching

Speaker 1 11:51

Now a question to you which one feels more energizing, expensive, empowering, lasting and motivating Motivating to create, to build, to figure things out, to imagine the world as it can be and go out there and build that world Like? Which feels better? Which one makes you want to do more? Not because you have to, but because you get to. In my experience, guys, awesome-based coaching is what actually works. It's how I helped a lot of clients and get better and better at it, get lasting results in body and mind and work transformations, while enjoying that process, not feeling miserable until you get it right, enjoying the process of becoming more of who they already are at their best. And maybe, just maybe, guys. It's also and that's a question to me and to all of us trying to improve things. Maybe, just maybe, it's also a much better way to build teams, grow cultures and shape systems that allow humans to thrive Not by fixating on fixing what's broken, but by seeing what's strong and helping it grow Right. That also reminds me of this notion that often you don't need more discipline. You need something you care joyfully deeply about.

Speaker 1 13:20

So that would be the end of the podcast, but we're also going to talk about how you can apply that to, for example, building your business or improving your health habits. So stay tuned. But before we jump right into that, guys, don't forget to share, rate, review this podcast so we can reach more ears of people who care, who want to improve things, who want to build stuff and might be demotivated because the environment and quote-unquote mentors tell them to just obsess about that one thing or a couple of things that is wrong about them and wrong also, quote-unquote. So do rate review, share with at least one person who might not be feeling all that great about all the awesome things that they have because this one thing that they can't yet figure out right. So share this podcast with that person. That would be the best thing, actually.

Applying Strengths Focus to Health Habits

Speaker 1 14:13

And now back to the episode. So how can you apply this same awesome based principle to, let's say, working on your eating habits? Maybe you're not that great as I at some point was at regulating your emotions and you end up overeating, maybe at night, maybe on certain occasions, and you keep kind of get mad at yourself, like why did you do that again? Why can't you just be more disciplined or have more willpower, like you know better? Right, that might not only be eating habit, maybe that's a drinking habit or whatever that might be, maybe binge watching Netflix, like you know better. Why don't you do that? And yeah, maybe you're not that great at being disciplined around temptations or regulating your emotions when you need to manage your stress, but maybe, just maybe, it's a real story from real life.

Speaker 1 15:11

You are really great at organizing things or scheduling things, being a planner. So instead of thinking about that thing that always isn't working out, how about you create you? Focus on building better systems. Maybe get organized around, having your fridge organized in a certain way that makes you think about healthy food first. Maybe remove all the apps to deliver stuff or pay for I don't know pizza or takeout. Remove that. Maybe get a box, a safe with a timer so you lock your phone in it so you can't binge watch it or scroll social media, right? Maybe sign up for some class with other people so you get to show up for something else in your weakest moments. Or maybe have someone to help you in these difficult moments and that's going to be your social system of support, right? How can you use that strength of being super organized to prevent you from falling over or tripping over this weakness, you might say, of maybe not being super disciplined with resisting all of the temptations that are actually designed to be irresistible?

Using Strengths to Build Better Systems for Business

Speaker 1 16:32

Then let's say you want to build your network and you want to develop your business, and you know you're a little bit of an introvert and you might benefit from having more people and connections to move you the thing that you care about forward. And maybe you're not that great at talking to a lot of people at these big, huge events and building connections and you end up staying in the corner not knowing what to do because you're so overwhelmed with all the things that you could be doing but you're not doing because it's just overwhelming, but instead you're actually quite good at coming up to one person and asking questions, asking about their work and how they got where they are and how did they come up with this thing that they are working on. Did they come up with this thing that they are working on? So maybe figure out to reach out, or create a list of the few people maybe one person that you're going to come up and start a good conversation. Figure out. Because you're an introvert, you're probably good at coming up with insight. Figure out a great way to approach this person.

Speaker 1 17:38

What else? Maybe you are not motivated to do fitness by yourself, but you know that when you commit to someone else, you're super sharp. You're going to show up rain, snow, wind, shine or thunderstorms. So maybe find that person or a group of people who now you're going to show up for and maybe tell them you know I'm not that great. I'm trying to build this habit. Can you check on me? So I show up for those things and even without them telling you anything, you're going to be showing up because social accountability is so strong for you and you know that.

Speaker 1 18:15

So this is just a couple of examples, but the same principle can be applied to teams, to organizations, to whole systems, instead of asking like what's wrong with us as society, as a country? Ask what's wrong with us and how can we use that to make it our superpower and become the superhero who just uses this power to solve the biggest problems and figure all the stuff that is meaningful and solve all the problems that we see right. So strength-based mentality, it's not just for personal benefit, it's also for organizational, for team benefit. Like what's strong about us as a team. How do we, as we are, become high-performing, not as like someone else or in the book that we read, but us what's already strong and working for us?

Final Thoughts on Flipping the Script

Speaker 1 19:13

I hope that gave you quite a few practical ideas on how to approach in a different way solving problems and what Einstein meant by saying we can't solve problems at the same level of thinking. Maybe it means that you need to drop the problem for a while and ask yourself what can I create? What do I want to exist in the world? What do I want to wake up for? What do I care about? Again, you don't need more discipline. You very often need a thing that you care deeply about. So how can you flip that? So you, instead of becoming even more myopically obsessed about the problem, creating this tunnel vision state which doesn't allow you to see the solutions. How can you flip the script and focus on your strengths, focus on what you're excited to build, focus what's right and possible in the world. So again, hopefully it gave you quite a few ideas to apply a different approach to figuring out things you care about. Don't forget to rate, review and till next time, guys, keep doing the most important thing Keep growing.