The detective's curse
"You know the detective's curse? The solution was right under my nose, but I was focused on the wrong clues." Martin Hart from the TV show True Detective was talking about his work, but we all know this phenomenon.
Often, the most perplexing problems have surprisingly simple solutions, but we only realize them later. Martin's words explain why: His attention was focused in the wrong direction. Something inside a person makes their gaze slide past, even when they are looking straight at the solution.
At any given moment, the surrounding environment bombards us with billions of stimuli, from which we choose only a tiny fraction. Everything else is either ignored as trivial, devoid of value, or seen as a threat capable of shattering our psyche.
It feels as if someone we unquestionably trust in our subconscious is guiding us, saying, "Don't go there, go here." Such trust clearly didn't arise out of thin air; in the past, this voice has helped us and protected us countless times.
It's not surprising that the psyche doesn't want to let go of time-tested and therefore precious convictions. The drama is that the context has changed dramatically since then, causing previously valid beliefs to become false.
The whole situation requires a person to change as well, sacrificing his (or her) worldview—the most valuable thing he possesses. Thus, in order for the "detective" to finally see the sought-after solution, he needs to willingly kill a part of himself.
Fortunately, rebirth follows, and the outdated map transforms into a GPS navigator. If someone didn't notice the solution right in front of him before, he now can't believe such "wildness" could have ever existed.
Therefore, if an important problem in your business remains unsolved, create conditions or seek a specialist for your implicit beliefs to be voiced and questioned.
