We have a bottom-freezer fridge in our kitchen. At the top of the freezer there is a shallow drawer, and at the bottom is a large bin. The space between the two is minimal. Because the freezer was a bit full (or pretty disorganized so it seemed full), I managed to accidentally push an ice pack over the back edge of the bin, leaving it stuck at the bottom of the freezer.
The large bin is fixed into place, so I couldn’t pull it out and my arm would not fit between the top drawer and the bin. I tried a few ways to reach the ice pack through this small gap. All were unsuccessful. Thankfully, the ice pack was thin enough that the freezer would still close.
The day after this happened, one of my daughters needed the ice pack. As I showed my kids the trapped ice pack and regaled them with my account of trying to get it out, my middle daughter stepped up to the side of the freezer, reached her arm behind the bin, and grabbed the ice pack.
I was grateful to have the ice pack out, but I felt very, very stupid. At no point in my attempts to reach it did I step back and really look at the situation. If I had done this, I would have seen what my daughter saw from where she’d been standing: when the freezer is open, there is a large gap behind the bottom bin that allows access to the bottom of the freezer.
This silly situation got me thinking about how important it is to step back and look at situations from new angles.
We don’t see as well when we’re stressed
Believe it or not, stress can impact our peripheral vision. Various physiologic changes occur when we are anxious (source and source), including changes in intraocular pressure that can result in tunnel vision (inability to see objects that aren’t directly in front of us).
While losing the ice pack wasn’t that stressful of an event, it happened late in the evening and capped off a day of stressful events. It’s possible that I didn’t notice the side of the freezer because it wasn’t directly in front of me! Being aware that stress can impact our vision means we can be intentional about stepping back and looking around to make sure we aren’t missing anything when trying to solve a problem.
Stepping back can be literal or figurative
In the situation with the ice pack, I needed to literally step back to view the situation from a new angle. However, often we need to “step back” figuratively. This can take several forms. It may mean chatting with trusted friends to find out if they notice something we’ve overlooked. It may mean journaling about the situation. It may mean that we stop thinking about the situation and wait a day or two so we can analyze it with fresh eyes.
When considering situations that affect our communities (things such as pandemics and politics), logging off social media is often a crucial way to step back . There are a couple of reasons for this. One is that social media tends to be an echo chamber (a place where we encounter only beliefs or perspectives that are congruent with our own). This is because we tend to follow or be “friends” with folks who are like us or who share our perspectives and values. Furthermore, social media uses algorithms to decide which posts to show us. If you watch a couple of videos about a new playground being built in your city, then the algorithm will show you more and more videos about playgrounds because watching the original ones signaled that you will stay engaged with the website or app if they show you this content. This gives the impression that everyone is building playgrounds. This isn’t accurate, but that’s how the algorithm makes it seem.
What we see on social media is not representative of what is going on in our communities and in the world. What we see depends on who we follow, and which posts we’ve engaged with in the past. Getting off social media and actually interacting with neighbors, friends, and fellow community members can provide a whole new perspective and help us better understand the situations we are facing.
Final thoughts
I never thought I’d have an insightful experience involving a freezer and an ice pack! Here we are, though, and I’m glad I’ve had the opportunity to consider all of this. I’ll no doubt encounter numerous situations in the coming months where I will benefit from stepping back and contemplating my options from a fresh angle.
Have you ever stepped back from a situation, physically or figuratively, and found that it helped you make sense of things? If so, what did you do to step back?
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