To see ourselves as others see us

O wad some Power the giftie gie us
To see oursels as ithers see us!
It wad frae mony a blunder free us,
An’ foolish notion

Translation from Scots:

Oh, would some Power give us the gift
To see ourselves as others see us!
It would from many a blunder free us,
And foolish notion

From “To a Louse” by Robert Burns

A simple thought for a Sunday morning.

I’ve often mused on the thought that “we cannot see the goldfish bowl we are swimming in”, and how we can all benefit from an outside perspective.

My own focus professionally is around being that Sounding Board for leaders, yet of course, I cannot see myself as others see me, so I also am always connected to people I can trust to tell me, unvarnished, how I appear from their perspective.

We can never truly see ourselves as others see us, so let us have the humility to be open to both ask and to be told what they see.

Originally published at Tom McCallum.