A writer went on a quest to wait less. Then he discovered how to care less about waiting.
Already a subscriber?Like many, I travel a lot for work. Unlike many, I never get tired of it. On the open road are always interesting people and new places. Phoenix in July or Fairbanks in the winter? Bring it on. There is one thing about travel that bugs me, though, and has ever since my tender years: the constant waiting. When I travel, I wait in the TSA line, wait to board the plane, wait in restaurants, wait to check into hotels, and on and on.
This mystery has led me to conclude that I have gone about the whole problem in the wrong way. I have been trying to engineer the outside world to make it better for me. I should instead have been working on myself, to live better in a world of waiting.The problem with waiting for something we want – even when the waiting is not anxiety-provoking – is that it produces two conditions that humans hate: boredom and lack of autonomy.
Waiting also lowers your sense of autonomy – or, to use the psychological parlance, creates an external locus of control, which means that your behaviour can’t change the situation at hand. This is extremely uncomfortable. Think of the last time you waited in an airport for a long-delayed flight, and the vexation that came from not being able to do anything about it except wait.
Although the expense and inconvenience of these things are permanent, studies have shown that the benefits wear off quickly and become a new normal that is very nearly as frustrating as the old one.to fritter away the time, playing games, checking email, and, especially, scrolling social media. You might think that this solution must work, the way everyone does it, but in fact it might not work at all.
The second personal change you can try is to practice the virtue of patience. Impatience is obviously central to the waiting-frustration cycle, and research has shown that those who have more patience have higher life satisfaction and lower levels of depression.
Australia Latest News, Australia Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
‘Bored of the mullet’: Cam Smith bombshell proves too shocking to be trueGolf: An emotional Peter Malnati claimed his first PGA title in nine years at the Valspar Championship.
Read more »
Proof why you shouldn’t write off Daniel Ricciardo — yetFormula 1: Ricciardo is under pressure at Red Bulls sister team, after failing to win a point in the opening three races as well as an underwhelming home grand prix in Australia.
Read more »
‘Crucial for memory’: Why facts stick when you write them downIt might not be a window to your soul but it’s better for your brain. Why writing – once an ancient “handicraft” – is still worth doing well.
Read more »
‘Crucial for memory’: Why facts stick when you write them downIt might not be a window to your soul but it’s better for your brain. Why writing – once an ancient “handicraft” – is still worth doing well.
Read more »
‘Crucial for memory’: Why facts stick when you write them downIt might not be a window to your soul but it’s better for your brain. Why writing – once an ancient ‘handicraft’ – is still worth doing well.
Read more »
Eight writers win ‘freedom and time to write’ with $175,000 Windham-Campbell prizesHonours that span fiction, nonfiction, drama and poetry go to practitioners around the world including novelist Deirdre Madden and poet Jen Hadfield
Read more »