Sun, 09 Jan 2011

Frustrated with Coincidence

On my drive to work, there is the last left turn where a number of things come together. There are left turn lanes in all directions and the light rail tracks cross the major cross street. I have to make a left turn and, depending on the time that I arrive at the corner, it can take quite a while to complete.

The other day, I hit the "perfect storm" of timing and found myself getting frustrated. I wondered why. I arrived at the corner just as the left-turn lane signal went red, meaning I had to sit through the whole couple of minute light cycle. In the middle, the light rail came through. This disrupts the cycle meaning that I had to wait an extra 45-60 seconds or so while the train came through.

My total wait time around 3 minutes. Big deal! Yet, I was frustrated by the whole thing. It isn't like I was late for work or anything or that something vital would be lost for the extra minute I had to wait. It was just that I had to wait that extra minute and it was frustrating.

But that sort of frustration is self-defeating. There is absolutely nothing you can do about it, it has no cause that you can affect, so shine it on. Oh sure, I could have left home earlier or later to avoid the time that I know the train is scheduled to be at that intersection. But what if the train is not on time? I'm stuck again, and my frustration grows, this time because I tried to affect this situation and failed. So I need to learn to not sweat the small stuff. By minimizing my frustration, I improve my general well-being and make the remainder of my day better.

Deal with things you can affect and learn to tollerate those things you cannot.

posted 19:41 [/Thoughts] permanent link