develop and a superpower you must practise. You can practise this skill while blinking, moving your head from side to side or in circles, or while walking, reading, or doing any other activity that restricts your attention. Alternatively, turn upside-down. Hang from a tree, do a headstand, or simply reach for your toes. Then look at wherever you are from this new vantage point. Don’t overthink it. Do you see the same scene differently? What had you not noticed right-side up? I have done handstands for more than 40 years. What began as childhood gymnastics has turned into a fully fledged passion for an ‘upside-down perspective’, and a core part of my personality. Practising handstands helps me to shift my view and see better. Handstands increase my flexibility and mental acuity. And they’re fun. What’s not to like? Expanding your peripheral vision isn’t a silver bullet. But it can help you see more, see better, and soften your anxiety. It’s a great place to start.
In many ways, today’s world is one giant case study for learning where to look and, fundamentally, how to see. When change hits, those who can see what’s on the edges, in the empty space, and where new solutions are to be found, are better positioned to navigate uncertainty and be responsible leaders. But it’s one thing to talk about this superpower and another thing to develop it. Expanding your peripheral vision is one simple (and even fun) way to start. Expand your peripheral vision Peripheral vision is the ability to see objects, movement, and opportunities outside of your direct line of vision. You can think of peripheral vision as the awareness of everything you’re not looking at. Today, most people are hyper-focused on what’s front and centre: the task at hand, the next thing on their ‘to-do’ list, this quarter’s return – or just getting through the day. We often fail to notice what’s on the periphery or horizon. Perhaps you don’t feel like you have the time to do so, or you’re not sure where to look. Yet there’s an entire universe of new insights and ‘a-ha! moments’ within your grasp… if you can see it. Peripheral vision isn’t just about fresh ideas or finding answers. It turns out that when you’re anxious, your peripheral vision shrinks. This can happen when you’re worried about work, grades, finances, expectations, relationships with friends and
and in the empty space is where real action, meaning, and progress are found. As a futurist, this dynamic makes sense to me because, in one way or another, the forces that shape the future are always on the periphery before going mainstream. For years, ‘mainstream leaders’ believed that mobile phones would never overtake traditional landlines. Mobile phones were marginalised. Yet today, there are nearly twice as many mobile devices as people on the planet, and landlines are fast becoming relics of the past. Mainstream thinking also deemed a pandemic a peripheral threat – until Covid-19 infected tens of millions of people around the world and ‘body-slammed’ the global economy in a matter of months during 2020. Indeed, sometimes what’s on the periphery can go mainstream at warp speed. Learning to see My point here is simple: we need to improve, drastically, our ability to see and appreciate what’s on the periphery and in the empty space. Not only because a just, equitable society demands it, but also because this is where truly innovative ideas come from. Empty space is the ideal place – perhaps the only place – where there is enough oxygen to breathe life into new possibilities. Laura Huang saw this. She knew that all around the white men who are at the centre of traditional MBA curricula are extraordinary, yet under-represented experts on business strategy, finance, investment, organisational theory, management, and leadership. So, she created the Well-Balanced Meal MBA reading list featuring women and people of colour (and yes, white men to balance things out). Their perspectives are fresh. They come at business and life from the side flank. Their goal isn’t to ‘hit the bull’s-eye’ because they know that’s already past its prime. They’re writing a new script that includes a bigger, more inclusive future of business and beyond.
‘Peripheral vision is the ability to see objects, movement, and opportunities outside your direct line of vision’
colleagues, or about almost anything. The effect is the same: your
scope of reality, comfort and creativity narrows. This is called ‘tunnel vision’ for good reason.
Expanding your peripheral vision opens up new horizons, surfaces and solutions, reducing anxiety. Yet it doesn’t happen automatically; it’s a skill you must
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