Remove The Blindfold

Listen, I love getting on stage and speaking in front of audiences of all sizes. During a competition, I’m able to communicate with a crowd, however, that communication is nonverbal. Spectators are able to see my hard work, my grit and determination, my love for track and field. When I’m behind a microphone on stage, I now have the opportunity to articulate in words what goes on in sport and in life. I get to express the true meaning of what I do, and why I do it. It’s so so much fun to be in that position.

What really gets me going is when I have the opportunity to utilize experiential learning activities to teach participants a lesson. In these moments, I’ve discovered that I learn just as much, if not more, than the actual participants. This was the case last week when I had the privilege of working with some high level Walmart executives.

The Walmart team was comprised of about 18-19 people and they were eager to get an idea of what we would be doing. Wesley and I gave a brief introduction, and afterwards, we took to the track to give them a taste of the “guide running experience”. In this activity, one person acts as the sighted guide, and the other person is the blind folded athlete. The two have to be connected at the hand with a tether, just as we would in a Paralympic race. On your mark! Set! Go! The pairs then walk, jog, or run from the starting line to the finish line. I can imagine that this is a sight to see.

At the conclusion of the activity, we debrief. How did you feel having to run with a blind fold on? Was it frightening? Why? As the guide, exactly how difficult was your role? How did your communication change during this activity? The answers that I hear are very interesting, but this one really blew me away.

Someone mentioned how there are times where you expect a person to see things how you see them, and for whatever reason, they don’t. It’s like a blindfold is covering their eyes. Those words echoed in my mind. How many times have we expected others to automatically understand where we’re coming from, our thoughts, and our prospective? A lot. Unfortunately, it usually doesn’t work like that. We sometimes need a guide, that person who will connect with us and help us gain understanding. It takes patience. Communication helps also. We can’t assume that people are seeing what we see because there are times when they are behind the blindfold. Offering insight surrounding your prospective helps eliminate confusion and increase discernment. So the next time you expect someone to see a situation as you do and they don’t, take a moment and recognize that this is your opportunity to help remove the blindfold.