Your Mirrors Can’t Show You Everything

Every driver learns to use the mirrors.

Rearview mirror. Driver-side mirror. Passenger-side mirror.

Before changing lanes, you check them.

But there is a problem.

Even when your mirrors are adjusted correctly, they cannot show you everything around the vehicle. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration explains that mirrors improve visibility, but blind spots can still exist. NHTSA recommends adjusting outside mirrors to maximize the field of view and still taking a moment to look before changing lanes.

That is a pretty good lesson about recognizing your blind spots in the rest of life too.

Recognizing Your Blind Spots

The difficult thing about a blind spot is obvious:

You can’t see it.

That means staring harder into the same mirror isn’t necessarily going to solve the problem.

1. Accept That Your View Is Limited

We all see situations from our own position.

You know what you intended. And know why you made the decision. You know what information you had at the time.

Other people see something different.

That doesn’t automatically make them right. However, it doesn’t automatically make you right either.

NHTSA notes that adjusting your mirrors slightly outward can increase the amount of roadway you can see.

Sometimes a different perspective reveals something your normal position couldn’t.

2. Ask Someone Who Can See What You Can’t

Imagine changing lanes while another driver is sitting in your blind spot.

You checked the mirror.

Everything looked clear.

The problem isn’t that you didn’t look. The problem is that the mirror couldn’t show you what was there.

FMCSA describes this problem as inadequate surveillance: a driver may look in the appropriate direction but still fail to see approaching traffic.

That happens outside the vehicle too.

Ask a trusted person:

What am I missing?

A customer, employee, spouse, friend, coach, or business partner may see something you cannot.

That is part of getting an outside perspective.

3. Don’t Confuse More Technology With Complete Visibility

Modern vehicles have cameras, sensors, warning lights, and increasingly sophisticated driver-assistance systems.

They’re useful.

But useful isn’t the same as complete.

AAA testing found that rearview cameras significantly increased visibility behind vehicles tested, yet they still did not show 100 percent of the area behind the vehicle.

That matters.

More data doesn’t automatically eliminate your blind spots.

Neither does experience.

Sometimes experience actually makes us more confident that we’ve already looked everywhere worth looking.

Final Tune-Up

Think about a decision you’re making right now.

Before moving, ask:

What might I not be seeing from where I’m sitting?

Then change your angle.

Ask someone.

Look again.

You don’t have to distrust everything you see.

Just remember that your mirrors were never designed to show you everything.

Next Step: If you want one practical idea each week to help you inspect your business from another angle, spot what you may be missing, and keep your energy focused on what matters, join the Weekly Business Tune-Up. Each week, we’ll inspect one part of the business and look for a small adjustment that helps you move forward with less wasted effort.