Just three shorts steps. That’s all I ask.
You know the scene. It is comical, yet frustrating. The crowd gathers around the baggage claim in anxious anticipation. Once that obnoxious buzzer goes off (can’t we come up with a better sound?), without fail, everyone scampers into place.
Like Pavlov’s dog, everyone reacts subconsciously to the buzzer and runs directly to the carousel. Within seconds, a human wall of hundreds — but now it seems like millions — is created, each person with their shins pressed against the cold metal carousel.
Slowly, the bags begin emerging from the hidden baggage land, and the human wall shifts as each individual brick jockeys for “the best” position.
If you are one of the many who doesn’t get out of the blocks quickly when the buzzer goes off, your 0.42-second lag-time costs you a spot at the carousel and an opportunity to see the bags. So you begin to bob and weave back and forth, jumping up and down to see over the tops of shoulders, dodging in and out of cracks, doing whatever you can to catch sight of your bags.
The ambitious percentage who arrive first at the carousel stand strong, protecting their spots, taking not even a second to let their eyes wander from the belt. Their knees are bent in an athletic stance, ready to pounce on the first bag that dares to look even slightly similar to their own. They do not budge an inch until they get their bags from the spot they earned.
The next time you travel, don’t contribute to this “Human Wall of Entitlement.”
Step back from the baggage claim and contribute to a new spirit at the baggage claim.
Stepping back from the baggage claim is about creating space for others, practicing patience, and putting a different spirit into motion in that often angst-filled environment.
Be the change you want to see in the airport.
Step back from the baggage claim.
Jason Barger is author of Step Back from the Baggage Claim: Change the World, Start at the Airport.
Jason Barger spent seven straight days flying 6,458 miles to seven different cities – without leaving the airports the entire time. He studied 10,000 minutes of observations at all four corners of the U.S. and reflected on how our airport experiences can teach us about our lives TODAY. The funny and inspiring stories remind us how to change our daily world in our personal lives, businesses, schools, and faith communities! Join the movement. All four editions of Step Back from the Baggage Claim are motivational books perfect for anyone looking to impact change in their life and work.
