The Blind Side: No, I’m not talking about the movie.
Blind side, a/k/a blind spot: The weakness or Achilles Heel in our vision, strategy or perspective.
The risk of an undiagnosed blind side: Repeated hit after unexpected blind side hit, until one lives with fear that the next blind side hit is inevitable. The blind side blow becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy.
The antidote to the blind side: #Teamwork
Yeah, I know, I beat football metaphors to death. I’ve got five adult kids who’ve been giving me a hard time about it for years. But it’s one aspect of my fanaticism that’s not going to change. That’s not just because football is the first language I learned to speak. It’s because the essence of football provides some rich lessons. Teamwork is at the top of that list.
I came by that lesson the hard way, taking a lot of blind side hits and learning to believe everything was a threat, an opponent to guard against. Hyper-controlling, hyper-vigilant, I was blind to the alternative. Luckily, my teammates didn’t abandon me. It took decades to see the game a different way. But it happened.
Whether it’s survival on the football field, in a zombie apocalypse, or just getting through the day, we need help protecting our flank, coming up with new game plans, and seeing problems and solutions in a new way. #Teamwork
