It's a train, but then what?

What’s the first thing that came to mind when you saw this picture?

Photo by Daniel Abadia on Unsplash

It’s a train, of course. Nevertheless, it’s unlikely that your mind stopped there. Did you think of this morning’s commute, packed like a sardine on the train? Or does a train bring to mind travel, opportunity and freedom? For someone whose grandfather was a train driver, it might be nostalgia tinged with sadness. If you’re an engineer, your attention might be drawn to what kind of train it is and how it runs. You might get a hit of fear if something terrifying once happened to you on a train.

Some thoughts and feelings evoked by this innocent train will be more common than others, but the list of immediate interpretations is infinite. Your mind goes where all your accumulated experience has been. It hooks onto what happened recently, but it is fuelled by every thought, behaviour, incident and attitude you’ve had and currently have – and your our experience is not same as anyone else’s. This is worth remembering next time you think you know what someone else is thinking.

Pause and seek a bit more understanding: ask, don’t assume.

What happened the last time you were surprised by someone else’s interpretation?