Thought Experiment Thursday: The Invisible Cheerleader

He was a young guy in a suit, sitting in a BMW 7 Series. A driver, evidently, here to pick up someone important. Alas, he was on the wrong side of the road. He had to turn around. It was a big road, so he pulled over to the curb.

His indicator came on, but more cars kept coming. From the back. From the front. It became mesmerizing. Suddenly, we had a real situation going on. I felt compelled to keep looking back as I walked by. “Will he make it? I hope he’ll make it soon. Is his ‘package’ waiting already?”

Across the street, in front of the grandiose building, another 7 Series was already waiting, another young gun at the wheel. Now, there were two people rooting for Mr. U-Turn to succeed.

Finally, a gap opened amidst the endless stream of cars, and in one swift motion, he turned his ship of a vehicle around, gliding smoothly into the parking spot in front of his colleague.

“Ahhh.” The relief was visceral. And just like that, the invisible cheerleaders went on their way.

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We don’t need a reason to be invested in someone else’s story. Humans want to root for other humans. By nature, we feel inclined to do it, and that’s a wonderful thing.

Our heroes needn’t even know we’re there, quietly encouraging them behind the scenes. It’s nice to be an invisible cheerleader. You can clap shamelessly, and, once you’re done, you might even entertain an inordinate idea:

What if, the next time I’m struggling, someone will be watching from the sidewalk, silently hoping I’ll succeed?

-Nik

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About Thought Experiment Thursday: We can’t solve our problems with the same thinking that created them. Science estimates we have 7 thoughts per minute. That’s a lot of chances to change our thinking. So, on Thursdays, that’s what we’ll practice.

A question opens the mind. A statement closes it. Let’s keep ours wide open.