Using Cognitive Reappraisal To Become More Patient
You only hurt yourself by being impatient.
My connecting flight to Charlotte was late landing. I had only 20 minutes until my next departure and the gate was on the other side of the airport. I was wedged in the back of the plane, hearing the clock ticking in my head. I began begging people to move past them.
To their credit, everyone obliged — which surprised me. Historically, airports bring out the worst in people.
I weaved through Charlotte Douglas International Airport at a breakback pace, weaving between crowds of people, sweat forming on my forehead as I drew nearer to my plane. But then I noticed the airport was getting more crowded as I got closer to the gate.
Delayed. Cancelled. Delayed. Something was clearly wrong and I was about to learn the hard way: don’t ever fly through Charlotte. A local later told me, “If I’d known Charlotte’s airport would be this dysfunctional, I’d have never moved here.”
I went from worrying I’d miss my flight to waiting an extra five hours outside of my gate, not getting to my house until 2:30 AM.
If there was any solace in the experience, it was that waiting in an airport with thousands of other stuck travelers makes for tremendous people watching. You can see the…
