We Don’t Always Have All the Information
I went to my favorite coffee shop and saw this in the car park.
For a bit of context, there are three parking spots out the front of the shop and plenty more around the back. It’s become a bit of a sport to sit and watch how people attempt to navigate the parking. This was definitely the best example I’ve seen in months!
Clearly, someone had no idea how to park between the lines, and the second car had simply followed suit. That was the conclusion I came to — and I suspect about 99% of the people walking past would have come to the same conclusion.
But when you looked a little closer, there was more to the story.
The silver car is brand new and had actually run out of petrol. I’m guessing the driver simply wanted to get it off the busy road rather than leave it sitting there and risk causing an accident.
You can’t see him in the photo, but behind the car was a guy in a mechanic’s uniform with a petrol container, presumably there to get the car going again.
It got me thinking…
How often do we make decisions based on what we can see, without having all the information?
We see something, make an assumption, and form an opinion — often within seconds.
And sometimes we’re completely wrong.
It’s a good reminder that there is often more to a situation than meets the eye. Before we judge, criticize or jump to a conclusion, perhaps we should take a moment to ask ourselves:
“Do I actually know the whole story?”