Last week’s burning question was all about the topic of pet peeves. What is a pet peeve? It’s something that annoys us. It is something drives us crazy. Some, but not all other people can relate. Often, we suffer alone.
Some are annoyed by sounds: popping gum, squeezing plastic water bottles, or somebody playing a TikTok video full blast on the tinny-sounding speakers on their phone.
Some are annoyed by people: Salespeople, loud people, crowds of people.
Some are annoyed by situations: Having to do self-checkout at Walmart, and then produce your receipt to prove you didn’t steal, waiting to pump gas in your car and the guy in front won’t move until he’s done seeing what social media he has missed in the last 3 minutes, or being stuck in a crowd of people milling about the sample table at Costco when you just want to get to the next aisle.
My pet peeves come from business, travel, or driving on the highways.
I’ve lived all over the country, and in a couple of different parts of the world, and everywhere I’ve been, people say drivers there are the worst anywhere. Living in Southern California, Washington DC, and, ironically, on the island of Guam, traffic and drivers are the worst, but then again, there are a lot of places I haven’t driven.
My other pet peeve area is, of course, business travel. Maybe, just like behind the wheel, airplanes are my commute. And just like I don’t like bad drivers or traffic ruining my driving commute, the same things happen in an airline commute. Inexperienced travelers, broken processes, flight delays, as well as just overcrowded airports and planes has made business travel really Lot less fun. It’s just part of the grind now.
But as I’m thinking about my pet peeves, they both take place when I have been, or have felt inconvenienced. And if there was somebody sitting next to me in any of these situations, they would probably think I was overreacting. For me, being comfortable, and not inconvenienced is a priority. Maybe I’m the only one.
The question of the week really got me thinking. Am I really this selfish? The answer is yes. 100%. And now that I’m realizing it, I’m not very proud of it. My stern, no-fooling-around “travel face” was just something that probably intimidated people or the didn’t bother to notice in the first place. It didn’t make the lines go away or keep people from stopping right in front of me when I’m moving through the airport to check their phone.
So maybe my advice is: learn to avoid your pet peeve triggers if possible. While I am trying to develop more patience for inexperienced travelers, I’ve learned over the years to try not to fly during peak times. This is why I take the first flight out in the morning, even though it means I’m getting out of bed about 2:15 AM. I try not to do business travel during peak travel times like spring break, summer, or around the Holidays. And, if a project ends mid-day, I will still spend the night so I can take the first flight out home. I have slept on way too many airport floors when flights are cancelled, or I miss a connection.
So, this week, think about your own pet peeves. Are these genuine annoyances or are they just things that make you feel inconvenienced? I think it’s OK to be selfish now and then, but when it becomes the primary driver, it’s probably very unhealthy. I am the poster child for unhealthy.
This week maybe we can all do a little bit better.