If Los Angeles airport (LAX) was the ultimate pass-fail test of my ability to remain calm in a stressful environment … I failed.
I’d love to be able to take an impromptu poll and ask, “Have you ever been to LAX?” And by “been to,” I mean, have you ever had to go through security at LAX to get to your gate? With the hope of boarding your plane on time?
The process was sheer madness. Let’s skip the whole process of dropping our car off at the rental site — and the bus driver who ignored everyone getting on the bus while he talked to his buddy about not getting a vacation. Yeah. Skip that. I stayed fairly calm, although I did instruct my husband Rob that the driver wasn’t getting a tip — not after my husband had to rearrange the luggage that everyone else had strewn all over the bus.
Then … then we get to the airport and try to get through security. That’s when Rob and I ran into The Line That Went On Forever And Did Not Move.
I’m watching the clock on the wall and how quickly time is passing. And I’m watching all the people in front of me and how The Line That Went on Forever And Did Not Move went up the stairs and around a corner and another corner and another corner …
… and anything resembling calm disappeared.
Here’s what I learned after the fact: Calmness is a choice … but it is also a thousand little choices about what I’m thinking and how I’m responding to circumstances I can’t control. If I looked past The Line that Went On Forever And Did Not Move and truly believed that everything would be okay — that I would be okay — no matter what, I would have remained calm as we oh … so … slowly wended our way through security.
In Your Words: What helps you maintain a calm mind and relax when you’re faced with challenges?
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Comments 7
I’ve flown through LAX many times, but never had lines like you experienced. But my one time flying out of Miami . . . well. We were in line for 90 minutes (with a baby), and were the last people to board the flight.
I remind myself that once I’m checked in, everything is fine, because that plane has my luggage and it’s not allowed to take off with my bags but without me. That thought has saved me a lot of stress in security lines.
Author
Iola:
Thanks for sharing your thought process for security lines. I’ll try to remember that next time.
🙂
I’m afraid it depends on the challenge. :-/ If I had been in your shoes at LAX, I probably would have been hauled off by TSA agents. That you weren’t says a lot about you. lol I.Totally.Freak.Out going through security.
Author
Pat:
It helped that Rob was with me — and that he knows how to help me when I’m in “freak out” mode. He stays calm and I know how to fake being calm. All my panic statements are said in a whisper. And I will say this: all the other people in line with us were very patient. No pushing, shoving or rude comments.
My one (once was enough) time at LAX was on way to Asia a year ago. Because they were constructing new take-off runways and were congested, they instructed our plane in Minneapolis to delay take-off 1 hr rather than have us circle overhead. During that hour, it snowed an inch here, which mean snowplows, de-icing. We took off 1.5 hrs. later, never made up the time. I missed my connecting flight to Korea & there were no instructions, nada, and nearly everything closed at by then 1 am or later. Finally 1 kind soul got me a room for 4 hrs. and a bus ride (wait time 1 hr.) It’s the first time I had brought a computer on a trip to Asia, & in that hotel I was able to FB a friend in Singapore (where I’d be stranded 16 hrs. on way to my niece in Jakarta), & within seconds, that friend responded she’d be there to meet me, all would be well, and it was. Later Delta called it a debacle and gave me lots of airmiles, but I did not care for LAX and will try not to go there again. By the way, it took 6 days for my luggage to reach me since it went to Korea first, got re-routed, etc.
Author
Dee:
Your LAX story trumps mine, for sure and certain. So thankful you took your computer with you! I certainly plan to avoid LAX in the future — that’s one plan I have for staying calm in the future. 🙂
I’m a day late, but I’m here. Yes, I’ve been to LAX. When we had to walk from one terminal to another to get to where our international flight was departing from. And that terminal was about two terminals away. And did I mention we were all toting our luggage? Yeah, I got a great workout that day. But I didn’t have to wait in the kind of line you did. 😉
Thanks for the reminder that calmness is a choice. When I’m faced with challenges, I remind myself to breathe. And that God knows what’s going on in the moment. He knows what I need each moment, and He’s going to get me where I need to be each moment. I’m not perfect at remembering these. But when I do remember, I’m a lot more peaceful. 🙂