Beyond Feelings - Vincent Ruggiero.original_ [65]
THE RANGE OF APPLICATION
Countless example of the benefits of close observation could be cited in every occupation and activity in life. Two cases will serve to illustrate the range of application.
In a small upstate New York town a steam foreman named Eric Houck was degreasing valves. One of the valves accidentally fell into a can of chemicals used to clean garbage cans. Houck grabbed an old stick and fished the valve from the can. As he did so, he noticed that the stick came out clean. The chemicals had stripped off the grime and paint. His curiosity aroused, Houck applied the chemical s to an old chair. It too came out clean to the bare wood. Since that happy discovery, Eric Houck has built a thriving furniture-stripping business, with more than 200 franchises operating in thirty-five states. All this has come from a chance happening that the average person would probably not even have noticed.
In the late 1950s John T. Molloy was an instructor in a Connecticut prep school. He began to observe some connection between the kind of shoes a teacher wore and student performance. As instructor who wore laced shoes seemed to get consistently better results than one who wore penny loafers. Molloy was intrigued by this apparent connection. He began to conduct a number of experiments. He found that the light colored work clothing worn by the Boston Strangler had apparently willingly follow the directions of people whose dress and manner suggest position and authority than they do those of people with a shabby appearance.
These observations have enabled Molloy to build a very successful "wardrobe engineering" consulting business (his services are sought by numerous executives) and to author the popular book Dress for Success.
For most of us, being observant may not have the dramatic results it did for Houck and Molloy. Nevertheless, it can help us relate more meaningfully to people and learn more about the things around us. Most important, it can aid our critical thinking.
BECOMING MORE OBSERVANT
The way to be observant is to use all five of our senses to keep our minds from wandering aimlessly. Too often people are unobservant because they are too absorbed in themselves – their own thoughts and feelings. When they speak, they are so busy forming their words and enjoying the sound of their voices that they forget their listeners. Observant people, on the other hand, have learned how to get outside themselves, to be constantly in touch with what is happening around them.
A good way to start becoming more observant is to practice receiving sense impressions more attentively. At the next meeting of an organization you belong to or in the next discussion in your dorm, try to notice things you would normally miss – objects in the room, the arrangement of the furniture, the positions of the people in relation to one another, the subtle reactions of people during the discussion. The next time you are talking to the store or the movies, try to see how many things you've been missing. Which houses are best cared for? How many people smile and nod or otherwise greet you? What activities are people you pass engaged in? Do they seem to be enjoying what they are doing? How many different sounds do you hear? Which sounds dominate? Are they pleasant or harsh? How many different styles of walking can you detect among the people you pass?
When you are reading a magazine or newspaper or watching TV, look for the significance of things. Consider the connections between ideas, even among apparently unrelated ones. An article about an astronomer's location of a new phenomenon in the heaves may reveal something about concentration and mental discipline. A TV show about the effects of negligence and abuse on children may suggest a new perspective on marriage