Hindsight is 20/20.

Not!

We've been conditioned to reflect upon the repercussions of a catastrophic life experience and lament, "If I only would have...Hindsight, is 20/20." Most of us are aware that 20/20 is an acuity index used to express normal vision (the clarity or sharpness of vision). That means if you have 20/20 vision, from 20 feet away, you see what most people can see from 20 feet away. The results we receive after we read the letters on the Snellen Eye Chart only measure what we see from 20 feet away, at the time of the examination. Likewise, a real time, life experience can only measure what we can see, during the time of the life experience.

When we step back and separate ourselves from a lesson-learned, life experience, we receive what is referred to as "hindsight." Hindsight is the process of deriving meaning from what we have seen or experienced. It's an examination of the "lesson learned." Hindsight allows us to reflect and clearly see our past, then, with depth perception, connect it to our "now." When we fuse these two pictures together, we gain optimal focus and extraordinary clarity. It allows us to shed light on a decade-old event with pristine, peripheral vision. Hindsight let's us start from the beginning, middle or end. From here, we can go fast or slow; up or down, forward or backwards. We can even pause or use a high power lens to zoom in and inspect. Hindsight rocks! It allows us to see clearly even from the great distance of years! That's not "normal" vision; therefore, hindsight couldn't possibly be 20/20.

You may be wondering, "Well, if hindsight isn't 20/20, then, what is it?" In truth, hindsight is at least 40/20. Remember, 20/20 vision is what is recognized as "normal vision." From 20 feet away, you see what most people see from 20 feet away. Hindsight is closer to 40/20, which is exceptional vision. This means that from 40 feet away, you see what the rest of us can only see from 20 feet away. Does that make sense? 40/20 hindsight vision indicates that when you step back from a life experience, your perception is amazingly sharper and loaded with much more detail so you can learn the life lesson. It was impossible to do this when you were closer and actually living the experience in real time.

It's hard to imagine anything more important than learning from life's lessons. And, as you can see, it's so unsophisticated, it's misunderstood. My hope is that with the insight contained in "Hindsight is 20/20: The Ultimate Optical Illusion," you're actually looking forward to your next examination.

Fran Briggs is President of the Fran Briggs Companies, an organization which helps others maximize human potential. For success tips and strategies, or to sign up for your free successzine newsletter, visit http://www.franbriggs.com