"Yes. But how about the blue ones!?"
Not long ago, while attending to a networking event in the Netherlands, I found myself talking to someone that used to live in Berlin for a short amount of time and defining her eager to recall her "German" past would be a big understatement. The woman was smiling and burning of interest, looking forward to her answer about the blue ones.
Blue ones what, you may ask?
We were actually talking about the yellow ones... The yellow ones are the private buses that you take as a tourist, in order to visit Berlin by bus and have a look around within a couple of hours or so, thanks to a specific sightseeing itinerary that covers most of the mainstream attractions of the city.
[The blue ones...
Are what vintage postcards are made of]
They don't exist. There are no blue ones for this purpose, at least not in Berlin. The only blue ones are the buses that can take you to other cities, and nobody at the table ever mentioned them.
How often do we talk about stuff that's only in our head, either as a fantasy, as a personal obsession, or as a real "false memory" (Hello, Mandela effect! I am glad that you are also in the Netherlands today!), instead of listening to what is being actually said? All the time.
We just don't notice it.
How would you listen to people around you, if you would be aware of this?
How would your listening skills be different, thanks to self-awareness and active listening, if you would commit to pay more attention to your bias and to practice mindfulness during your interactions on a regular basis?
Tags: Perception, Active listening, Sightseeing in Berlin, False memory, Self-care
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