The Art of Noticing: The Power of Observation - Part 1

Yes, observation is the very ability that once helped humans learn how to walk, speak, recognize faces, understand intentions, and feel emotions. It is the same power that allowed Leonardo da Vinci to paint the Mona Lisa, Charles Darwin to shape the theory of evolution, Isaac Newton to recognize gravity in a falling apple, and visionaries to see possibilities long before the world was ready for them.

This ability already exists within you.

When you learn to unlock it, something shifts.
Problems stop feeling overwhelming.
Patterns become visible.
Relationships make more sense.
Decisions become clearer.
And growth stops being accidental.

But there is one condition.

To truly understand observation, you must stay present.
Focused on words, ideas, patterns, and subtle changes.
Because the moment attention breaks, reality and illusion begin to look the same.

The truth is simple:
what is real and what is false cannot be understood by merely looking 
it can only be understood by noticing.

And that is where the art begins.

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A Small Challenge Before We Begin

Before moving forward, let’s test something.

Read this sentence carefully:

A small aircraft is flying from City A to City B.
There are 12 people on board.

Midway through the journey, the plane loses altitude and crashes in a remote area.
There are 9 parachutes available.

Five people jump and survive.
Two parachutes fail mid-air.
The remaining people stay inside the aircraft and are rescued hours later.

Now say, Why didn’t the pilot use a parachute?

If your mind immediately tried to answer why you already missed it.

Nowhere does the story say the pilot didn’t use a parachute.
Nowhere does it say the pilot stayed inside the aircraft.
Nowhere does it even tell you what happened to the pilot.

Your brain created a character, assigned a role, and wrote an ending 
without being asked to.

This is not an intelligence test.
It is an observation test.

Most people miss it not because they are foolish,
but because the brain rushes to respond instead of slowing down to notice.

And this single habit  reacting before observing 
is the reason most people fail to see what is right in front of them.

Now that you’ve felt this gap between looking and noticing,
let’s understand what observation truly is.

 

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Chapter 1: What Is Observation?

Observation is often misunderstood.

Most people believe it is a talent, something you either have or you don’t.
In reality, observation is not talent at all.
It is trained awareness.

While most people spend their free time scrolling endlessly through social media, reacting to information without absorbing it, a few individuals choose a different path: they watch, listen, and notice.

Take the example of Safin Hasan, one of India’s youngest IAS officers. While many aspirants spend years preparing exclusively through books, Safin used his time differently. Alongside his studies, he immersed himself in real environments working with NGOs, interacting with underprivileged communities, and observing people at the grassroots level.

Not out of charity alone but out of preparation.

He knew that in the future, his work would involve real people and real problems. Instead of waiting for that role to begin, he trained himself early by observing human behavior, systems, struggles, and decision-making patterns.

This is where observation reveals its true power: idea generation.

You don’t need to be a scientist to benefit from observation. It fuels innovation everywhere.
Startup ideas, business insights, career moves, content strategies, even relationship decisions all of them improve when observation improves.

Think about everyday life.

You recognize your own bike just by the sound of its engine.
A mother understands what’s wrong with her child simply by observing subtle changes in behavior.
What we casually call “common sense” is, in reality, nothing more than well-developed observation.

Safin’s observation didn’t just help him clear exams, it helped him most during the interview stage.

Just one month before his UPSC interview, he fell seriously ill and spent nearly the entire month hospitalized. There was no time left for last-minute preparation. Yet when he walked into the interview room, he relied solely on years of accumulated observation, awareness, and understanding.

The result?

He didn’t just clear the interview he secured one of the highest interview scores in the country.

This is not an exception.
This is what observation does when practiced consistently.

If we look at history, every major breakthrough has come from people who noticed what others ignored.

The problem today is not a lack of intelligence 
it is lack of conscious awareness.

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Chapter 2: Why Most People Fail to Observe

Most people don’t fail at observation because they lack intelligence.
They fail because they are mentally overloaded.

Modern life trains us to react, not to notice.
Notifications demand instant responses.
Content is designed to grab attention, not deepen it.
Speed is rewarded more than awareness.

As a result, the brain stays busy but shallow.

We consume information constantly, yet process very little of it.
We scroll, skim, and switch tasks so frequently that the mind never settles long enough to observe. When attention is fragmented, observation collapses.

Another major reason people fail to observe is assumption.

The brain loves shortcuts.
Once it thinks it already “knows” something, it stops paying attention to details. We label situations quickly this person is boring, this job is useless, this place is familiar  and the moment we label, observation ends.

What feels like confidence is often just an assumption.

Children observe naturally because everything is new.
Adults stop observing because they believe they’ve seen it all.

Emotion is another silent enemy of observation.

Strong emotions fear, anger, excitement, and insecurity, narrow attention. When emotions take over, the brain shifts into survival mode. In that state, clarity disappears. We react instinctively instead of observing consciously.

This is why people make their worst decisions when they are emotional.
They are not seeing reality they are seeing their feelings.

Routine also plays a role.

When life becomes repetitive, awareness fades. We travel the same routes, meet the same people, follow the same habits  and the brain switches to autopilot. Observation requires presence, and autopilot removes it.

That’s why people miss obvious details in places they visit every day.

Another uncomfortable truth: observation requires effort.

Not physical effort mental discipline.

It is easier to be distracted than attentive.
It is easier to react than to pause.
It is easier to follow patterns than to question them.

So most people choose convenience over awareness.

There is also fear involved  fear of noticing uncomfortable truths. Observation exposes patterns we may not want to see: unhealthy relationships, wasted potential, poor habits, misplaced priorities. Ignoring reality feels safer than confronting it.

But avoidance comes at a cost.

When observation is weak:

• Decisions are impulsive

• Relationships feel confusing

• Opportunities go unnoticed

• Growth becomes accidental

People then assume life is random  when in reality, they just aren’t seeing clearly.

The irony is this:
the brain is naturally designed to observe.
But without conscious training, that ability slowly dulls.

Observation doesn’t disappear.
It gets buried under noise.

And until that noise is reduced 
until attention is reclaimed 
most people will continue to look at the world without truly seeing it.