"The key to everything is patience.
You get the chicken by hatching the egg, not by smashing it."
Arnold H. Glasgow

While the proverb says "Patience is a virtue," it isn't a virtue easy to come by in today's modern world. This past Friday I conducted a silly experiment. I found that I was growing incredibly impatient while trying to book a family vacation online. I had worked on this "booking" three other times, on different days, and still hadn't been successful. I had become too impatient in the process and gone on to something else. This time, as I waited for the media-rich site to load, I decided to set my timer to see how long this would take me to complete. Now, keep in mind we don't have true "high-speed" internet where I live. We do however have satellite which is high-speed when it wants to be, and slow the other 99% of the time. Here is how my experiment played out...

1. I entered my trip dates and my hotel preference. I clicked "search."

2. A new screen appeared saying, "This might take a few moments, please wait." After the first moment, I flipped to a different internet screen while I was waiting, because I was already bored with waiting.

3. A few moments later I checked back -- the same screen greeted me, "This might take a few moments, please wait."

4. I switched back to my other screen and opened an email.

5. I switched back once again, this time it had some results. Unfortunately none of the results matched my search criteria. I clicked "start over."

6. The screen went white, and the little hourglass turned, and the satellite plugged along to get me back to the home page.

7. I let out a frustrated sigh.

8. The home screen appeared, I selected different options and clicked submit. The familiar screen returned, "This might take a few moments, please wait."

9. My daughter appeared at the door wondering if I could make her some lunch. I went into the kitchen and turned on the oven to preheat it. Knowing that would take a while, I went back to my computer which had finished reloading.

10. There was a match! I was ecstatic. I clicked "continue." Now I had to choose from 5 different ticket options. I clicked on the little "compare tickets" window. It turned white as the satellite chugged along trying to load.

11. I ran to the other room to see if the oven had finished preheating. Nope. Back to the computer.

12. I read through the ticket options, but there wasn't enough information to make a good decision. I pulled up a new window and queried Google for some help. The screen turned white as Google began its search.

13. I went back to the other room, the oven was now preheated. I put Sammy's lunch in and set a separate timer for 10 minutes before heading back to the other room.

14. I clicked the most applicable Google link. To my surprise the page loaded quickly and after reading it I felt confident in my ticket choice.

15. I returned to the other window, which was still waiting for me to enter my ticket choice. I chose the correct option and clicked submit. "This might take a few moments, please wait."

16. I fetched a Diet Coke and returned to my computer.

17. The screen now said, "We're sorry, your session has expired. Please begin your search again."

18. I let out a very loud frustrated sigh.

19. I re-entered my data, confident that I could now do it within whatever time necessary and clicked search. "This might take a few moments, please wait."

20. I wasn't waiting... I went back to the other screen and finished answering the email I had opened earlier.

21. I went back to the vacation screen and entered my preferences and the ticket type. I filed a nail while waiting for the next screen.

22. New user? Please click here to register. I think at this point I was glaring at my computer. I clicked "there" and began answering 20 questions to create an account. I clicked submit. "This might take a few moments, please wait."

23. The second timer went off and I went to retrieve my daughter's lunch.

24. I returned to the computer. Your account has been created. Please click here to continue. I clicked "there." "This might take a few moments, please wait."

25. I filed another nail.

26. Then, I ended up back at the beginning. Please enter your trip preferences.

27. After a few more screens, and entering my "CSV" code wrong from my credit card I finally landed at beautiful page "Your reservation has been confirmed." I consulted my timer...

Total time: 36 minutes
Total time it felt like: Half my life.

Why? Because we live in an "instant" society. I discovered just how impatient I had become through this experiment.

I began thinking about how this process would have played out without internet technology. First, I would have requested information from my destination. Since I wouldn't be able to download a PDF file, I would have had to actual wait for it to arrive in the mail. Or I would have gotten in my car, and driven 20 miles to the nearest travel agent to pick up a brochure. I wouldn't have been able to check little boxes and "custom-compare my choices." I probably would have had to (believe it or not) write down my preference on paper with a pen! Then, I would have had to either call this travel agent, or drive another 20 miles and book the trip. Since I wouldn't be able to print my tickets electronically at home, I would have to wait for them to arrive in the mail, or return to the travel agent to pick them up.

It would have easily been a process of hours or days---not minutes. Yet here is the interesting question: Would I have been exasperated and frustrated by the process of driving to the travel agent, researching the trip and taking a few hours or days on the project?

My answer: NO! Why? Because how else would you book a trip? I would have expected it to take that long. I would have allowed time to do that. Now with technology, we overbook ourselves and expect to be able to do things in minutes that once took hours or days. When try to "smoosh" weeks of living into a 24-hour period and when something takes a bit longer than expected, we become anxious, stressed or impatient.

Technology of the modern world can be of great assistance, but it can also steal some of life's richness if we aren't careful...

Where we once thoughtfully chose pretty stationary and wrote letters long-hand, we now click two buttons and send an e-mail.

Where we once relied on a group of friends to play a game, we can now click a button, have the game instantly set up and play with people online.

Where we once interacted with others to book travel, do our shopping, and more - we can now do all of the above without saying a word aloud or getting dressed!

Did you know that you can now even take defensive driving courses online?

Your turn:
Are you trying to pack too much into a single day in search of a "rich" life? While you certainly may create a "fuller" life, that doesn't mean it will be any richer--just busier. Examine if and where technology has robbed you from interaction and experience versus enhanced it. Then this week, try doing a couple of things "the old fashioned way."

The Change Your Life Challenge

Brook Noel
http://www.changeyourlifechallenge.com