Recently I have been flying a lot. You probably know every word by heart just like you know the words to a favorite song or you can recite the script of your favorite movie. “The cabin door is now closed. All electronic devices should be turned off so we can push back from the gate….All computers, cell phones, iPods……for our on time departure….” Flight attendants move swiftly through the isle to close the over head compartments and do their straightening of seat back and seat belt check etc. A second announcement is given with the same message. As I look around people are still ignoring the messages being given. I thought what is this about? As I listen and watch the furious texting going on, it truly looks like an addict.
On a recent flight, a very frustrated crew gave the reigns over to the captain and a big booming voice came over the speakers. He said: “….my cockpit screen shows 14 of you are still using your cell phones, 6 of you are secretly listening to your iPod, 3 are still on your laptop and 2 of you have outdated TI calculators..” Although, I am sure he was kidding about the number, I do believe he could visually have an indicator of “electronic noise” from the cabin. People all around me quickly turned off their electronics.
Why do we think that we are above the rule or that we are so important that this does not apply to us or that I will just be one more minute? If the numbers were correct add up the minutes and that is just about how much time lapsed before we were able to push away from the gate.
Are you guilty of this…the seat belt light is on and you ignore it and get up to go to the bathroom? You get up to open your overhead to get something out? Do you send your child to the bathroom and not accompanying them and they become lost? Or they cannot reach the latch to open or close the door, expecting that the flight attendant will take care of it? Are you rude and demanding of the flight attendant and treat them as if they are just there to serve you only? Remember the delay in the paragraph before? On one flight there were several folks in the back of the plane who were cutting it very close to not making a connection because of the delay, so the flight attendant came on the speaker and asked everyone to stay seated so that these people could deplane and be whisked away to their connecting flight. What do you think happened?
These situations are all true and they are the very things that drive each of us crazy. We put on a mindset of; “I’m the exception….I matter….” In these situations everyone looses, but it occurs to me that no one actually is aware of how their seemingly small action impacts everyone around them.
This is true at the self-check-in kiosk, the security line, the line to get food before you get on the plane, the moment in the waiting lounge when you see that people have so many carry on bags that are not a purse/briefcase and one small bag, etc.
When I begin my travel, whether it is by car, bus, train, or jet, my mindset begins when I start packing for my trip. I make sure that I have everything that I need to smooth out the rough spots. That might be a comfortable pair of shoes which slip on and off. It may be cash to purchase food and water to get me through those unexpected delays no matter where they occur. I complete all my business before I board the plane and I have my immediate reading or writing material in my hands when I sit down, so that when I put my things up overhead, I am finished until I pull them down to deplane. What is so difficult about that? You plan and prepare in other areas of your life. What is different about this?
Setting your mindset to another higher level raises everyone.
