I’ve been reading Creativity, Inc. by Ed Catmull and Amy Wallace. It is the story of Pixar.

I appreciate having my assumptions challenged. One of the points in the book is that hindsight is NOT 20/20. For any situation, there will always be a large part of the forces, circumstances, and story that we will not see. We are hindered by our limited viewpoints.

What is a better way to state the colloquialism? How about this:

Hindsight is often a more complete picture of what did happen compared to what we anticipated might happen.

Yes, we still do not see a large part of the picture, but maybe it’s clearer. In re-thinking the axiom, we create space for the unknown. In some cases it may help give grace to difficult situations, but also offer humility to successful events.

In any case, it is a reminder that we operate with limited view. And ironically, this acknowledgment may then help us to better see.