Have you heard someone said, “I need a second set of eyes on this?” Recently, my husband and I worked on a home improvement project. When we bought our house, we overhauled the first story of the house. One area that was still in progress was our Master bath. He was cutting tile while I was painting a door and some baseboard. At this point, he was cutting all the pieces around the edges of the room and for the separate, small room for the toilet. The tiles we were using are quite large which makes cutting them a bit more challenging.
At one point my husband said to me, “I need a second set of eyes on this.” I looked at it. While our tile saw is large it couldn’t make this particular cut in one pass. The tile would hit the “throat” of the saw. Even flipping the tile wouldn’t quite solve that problem. Never mind the detail. We figured it out.
My husband is very accomplished with home renovations. When he asked for my input, I felt appreciated. On one hand, it was not a big deal. It was a simple request. I gave my input, we quickly thought about it together, and it worked. Then we each resumed our respective tasks.
But as a frequent Brilliance Nugget writer, I noticed something. I noticed how good I felt about these few words, “I Need a Second Set of Eyes On This.”
The point of the story is this: Sometimes we feel we should be able to do everything ourselves. I’m sure my husband could have figured this out by himself, too, had I not been there.
But asking for a second set of eyes has two effects:
One is obvious. You get a second person’s input and ideas. Maybe they are thinking of something you are not at that moment. In any case, you have someone to bounce ideas off of.
The second effect is less obvious. You show the other person that you appreciate their input. Most people like feeling appreciated. Asking someone to give you a second set of eyes is a simple way to do that.
I’m Curious
When and where could you ask a person for a second set of eyes? I invite you to think of a situation where the other person’s input would be useful. You would signal your appreciation of this person at the same time.
Dr. Stephie
P.S.: I appreciate you commenting and sharing this with others. Thank you!
