From the second you walk into the terminal, youвЂ™re probably diligent and focused in seeking out the specific train you want to get on, ignoring as much of the noise and distraction as you possibly can. You walk into a train station knowing it will be a chaotic place. We have all gotten on trains of thought without questioning their direction, but would you do this at an actual train station? Would you just show up, and walk onto the first train you happen to see? Of course not! But would you do this in an actual train station? And then we ride this train as far as it wants to take us. When a emotionally-provocative thought arrives, itвЂ™s almost like we canвЂ™t resist getting on board. How many would-be relaxing nights have you had spoiled by an anxious or depressing thought that entered your mind and derailed you? I know itвЂ™s happened to me. We just get on board whichever train is front and center, without asking where the train is going, or whether we even want to go that way. We are often in the habit of simply taking whichever train seems to pull into our mental train station first. ItвЂ™s tempting to take the first train of thought that arrives

ItвЂ™s easy to get overwhelmed, lost, or both. But itвЂ™s also a chaotic place with blinking lights, flashing signs, loud noises, pushy crowds, and plenty of irrelevant information. Your mind is a wide-open place with the potential to take you anywhere you want to go. To flesh out the metaphor a bit: if your thoughts are trains, then your mind is a train station though which all of these trains pass. So where do these trains of thought come from, and where do they end up? Your mind is a train station They are forever chugging along, emitting white noise in your mind. If you counted every distinct thought you had in any given day, itвЂ™d surely be in the thousands. And then some thoughts have huge emotion attached to them (like dreading a sit-down with the boss). Some of these thoughts are so mundane we may not even notice them (like picking out socks in the morning). Think of the phrase вЂњtrain of thought.вЂќ ItвЂ™s a vivid metaphor that describes thought in motion.

Here a metaphor for the way the mind works. Your mind is a hectic place - how do you find your way? Navigating your mind

Thought train meaning