We were visiting friends in Australia. I enjoyed the landscape with Eucalyptus trees and groups of kangaroos and took the photo below from the backseat during a drive where you can see a vegetation that is very different than it is in the United States. Before you read further, I encourage you to take a close look at the image and ask yourself the question “what’s wrong with this picture?”
For some of you it may be obvious what is wrong, for others it may take a while to figure this out. What is wrong is that cars drive on the left in Australia, while in the image the cars are driving on the right. My friend is wise enough to not be a ghost-driver, and—in contrast to what the image shows—he follows the traffic rules by driving on the left side of the road. And the steering wheel of his car is, in reality, on the right. For some of you it may have been obvious that something was wrong, but for others that may not have been obvious. I certainly would not have noticed.
You may encounter situations in life where you have a sense that something does not feel right, but you may not be able to point out what is amiss. Here are some examples.
The behavior of somebody else is puzzling. They may not engage in contact and may avoid looking others in the eye. You may observe a change in behavior, for example, a person who normally is talkative suddenly is quiet, or the other way around. Somebody may behave differently than you are used to.
You may act out of character yourself. Sometimes we say or do something, and we ask ourselves: “where did that come from?” Perhaps you don’t feel a passion for something that you normally are passionate about. Or you may suddenly self-sabotage. These are indications that something is not right; we may be overwhelmed, absorbed by worries or concern, our mind may dwell on things distant from the present, or we may be hungry, angry, lonely, or tired.
You are in a situation where something feels amiss. You may walk into a room filled with people and you feel a tension. For example, conversations are forced or they are dominated by just a few people. Perhaps you have a sense that something important needs to be said, but somehow it remains unspoken.
Something may feel wrong at your job. As a researcher I know this too well. A theory may have loose ends or inconsistencies, or data disagree with theory. Thomas Kuhn argues in his book The Structure of Scientific Revolutions that such unease with the status quo in research is an important driver for innovation. Whatever your job is, there may be moments where you feel that something is not right.
These are just a few examples of situations where something feels wrong. Can you think of situations that you encountered? Often the sense that something is awry is diffuse, it may feel more like a hunch than a hard fact. What do you do when this happens?
The best thing to do is do nothing, but instead stop, look, and listen. Just take in what is happening and absorb it without a rational analysis. Ask yourself: what is happening? Then sense what comes up. The point of not doing anything is that we buy time to become aware what is wrong with the situation. If we act too quickly, we may be carried along by expectation, prejudice, or an instinctive response. Instead, pausing and leaning into our intuition may give us the fresh eye and the fresh mind to respond with wisdom.
To wrap this up, I want to make a confession. I doctored the photo by flipping it around. As a result, my friend seems to be seated on the left side of his car as he is driving on the right side of the road. Yes, I made fake news, without using AI. But if you study the photo carefully you can find a telltale sign that left and right are reversed (other than the cars are driving on the right side of the road). Can you find this telltale sign? The first person who emails me the correct answer will receive a free coaching session!