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Unexpected Surprises
by Lee J. Colan, Ph.D.
Have you ever tried to pull some aluminum foil out of the box and the entire roll just jumps right out of the box as you pull? Then you have to put the roll back in the box and start over. The stubborn roll always comes out at the wrong time!
Well, whoever looks at the end of your aluminum foil box? I sure never did until someone shared an unexpected surprise with me. Recently a friend revealed this to me...
Yesterday I went to throw out an empty Reynolds foil box and for some reason I turned it and looked at the end of the box. And written on the end it said, "Press here to lock end." Right there on the end of the box is a tab to lock the roll in place. How long has this little locking tab been there? I then looked at a generic brand of aluminum foil and it had one, too. I then looked at a box of Saran wrap and it had one too! I can't count the number of times the Saran wrap roll has jumped out when I was trying to cover something up.
I hope I'm not the only person that didn't know about this.
My friend surely was not the only one who was surprised by the commonly overlooked, yet highly ingenious feature. For those of you for whom a picture speaks a thousand words, I have provided this photo...
When I read this email from my friend, I ran to my kitchen to validate this with my own eyes. After I noticed that every aluminum foil box had this handy feature, it made me think. How often in life is there a wonderful feature right before our eyes, and what does it take for us to notice?
- Do you ever look at a friend but not see him?
- Do you ever listen to team member but not hear her?
- Do you ever think about how much you appreciate your spouse, but not express it?
The key is to look past the role (employee, boss, spouse, vendor) to see the person. Taking this view will likely reveal lots of "hidden features" – skills, wisdom, ideas, perspectives –that we might otherwise overlook. Like the hole in the side of the foil box, seeing all the features people bring to our relationships can make our lives a lot easier... you might be surprised!
Copyright © 2009 by Lee J. Colan and The L Group, Inc.
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