“𝗬𝗼𝘂 𝘀𝗲𝗲 𝗯𝘂𝘁 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗱𝗼 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝗼𝗯𝘀𝗲𝗿𝘃𝗲,” 𝘀𝗮𝗶𝗱 𝗦𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗹𝗼𝗰𝗸 𝗛𝗼𝗹𝗺𝗲𝘀 𝘁𝗼 𝗪𝗮𝘁𝘀𝗼𝗻.
So true for most of us most of the time. This short HBR article is a nice reminder of this. It explains how ‘defamiliarisation‘ helps us to break away from our habitual way of experiencing the world around us (with all its preferences and biases).
The article mentions Maria Konnikova’s excellent book 𝘔𝘢𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘥: 𝘏𝘰𝘸 𝘵𝘰 𝘛𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘬 𝘓𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘚𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘭𝘰𝘤𝘬 𝘏𝘰𝘭𝘮𝘦𝘴 and highlights a few of the many ways we can step away from the usual flow of what and how we observe:
• Pay attention to things (or people) you observe and come up with a different name for what you see
• Instead of seeing things as a whole, break them up into small pieces – really zoom in on them and notice what you see
You can do similar experiments with your other senses: listen to different sounds around you, even if the space that you are in seems silent; notice what is there when you smell your coffee; touch something near you and register how it feels in your hand (perhaps not try that one with your colleagues or any strangers around you….).
Perhaps another little experiment for you to play with today. And notice what new ideas or perspectives it brings you.