Have you ever been so close to something that you couldn't see it for what it truly was?
Me too.
Why does that happen? Why is it so hard to see clearly...when we're right in the middle of it?
It’s because when you're entangled in the day-to-day—managing details, putting out fires, following your usual routines, keeping things moving—your focus gets zoomed all the way in.
When your nose is pressed right up against the canvas, all you can see are individual brushstrokes. You lose sight of the overall painting.
Familiarity creates blind spots. We get so used to our own routines, our own friction, and even our own unique gifts that they become invisible to us.
We simply can't see our own pattern—or our own progress—when we're standing in the center of it.
⬇️ Btw, watch instead of reading, or read on below.
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Lately, I’ve been doing a series of reviews—looking at feedback from events, reading newsletter responses (I love when you reply to these!), and listening to what my coaches have pointed out.
It's funny, because I know I’ve heard/read a lot of these same things before...but somehow they didn't sink all the way in the first time around. (That's what a little time, repetition, and retrospection does for ya.)
But we talk so much about what we're missing or not doing good enough—the blind spots, the bad habits—our faults and failures...
...and not enough about the positive impacts we're making.
Just like the "bad" things, we have a lower amount of familiarity with our own impact simply because we’re so close to it.
What we should be doing more of, because it's working. What we should leverage.
It can be hard to see the difference you're making unless you invite someone from the outside to look with fresh eyes.
I experienced this in a small workshop not long ago. The intimacy of the room gave us space to dig deep together and at the end, people shared things like:
"Dawn helped me see something I couldn't see before."
"I was finally able to get unstuck and move in a new direction."
And recently, someone gave me that same gift in my own business. They pointed out where I was pouring attention into areas that weren't giving the biggest return, and showing me where to refocus.
It's so exciting to get that kind of external clarity. To stop and go, "Huh. I totally wasn't seeing that. Maybe this could be a difference maker."
In fact, someone who reads this newsletter was recently a difference-maker for someone else! A woman who recently came to our Momentum Reset landed there simply because one of you shared this newsletter with her.
One of you recognized a fellow human could use a boost and said, "Here. I see you. And I think this might help." (Thank you from both of us!)
We aren't meant to figure everything out in isolation.
So if you could use an outside eye to meet you where you, let's connect. Grab the Let’s Talk Coaching form, and let’s start unpacking what you can't see on your own.
(Chances are just the simple act of filling it out will start to give you some clarity.)
After you do that, we'll schedule a call and start talking things through. No obligation, no pressure to do anything after that.
What's to lose?
Warmest amounts of gratitude,
Dawn
P.S. If these messages are blessing you, share this with someone else today. You never know who might need an outside perspective.
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