Waiting for someone or something drives me nuts. The same is true with meetings in which I have no interest. Like my kids in church, I squirm, doodle, make faces and daydream, not necessarily in that order. Then there is waiting for the elevator in our corporate headquarters. It’s absolutely maddening, standing there for 5 or 10 minutes, waiting for the damn thing to decided whither it feels like coming down to get me, or not.
Most likely this anxiety is caused by some childhood trauma I should have out grown but apparently, didn’t. I still pace back and forth, look at my watch and eventually take the stairs. Yes, a good climb up to the 20th floor makes you stronger but does nothing for my emotional state. So, like any functioning neurotic, I’ve developed a good tool to cope with my anxiety. Call it a philosophy or a mantra, it brings me peace and calms my anxiety… It goes like this;
“I’m getting paid to stand here, I’m getting paid to stand here, I’m getting paid to… “
You get the point. Try it the next time you hear yourself complaining about having to wait for a slow elevator, airport security or another useless meeting, remind yourself that you are getting paid to stand or sit there…
