Thought of the Day 03.09.10

As a competitive person skilled in problem-solving, it’s fair to say I try to “win” in every situation. When it comes to parking lots, of course, this means finding the space closest to my destination (allowing for the fact that parking near a cart return rather than the storefront at a grocery store may save walking, which is just another way of winning). Since I’m also quite lazy, I naturally get irritated when I have to park far away because of congestion.

But then my company started this wellness program that gives us a point for parking far away, which I began doing. I became accustomed to routinely passing “good” spots in the process. That’s when I noticed something fascinating.

On those days when I didn’t need the points but there also didn’t happen to be any close spaces, it didn’t irritate me. Deliberately parking far away had undermined for me the importance of parking close even when I wanted to. So, a neat little byproduct of this habit was greater indifference about where I parked in general and therefore peace about the game’s results.

I wonder what other things that seem important would lose their grip on me if I only practiced not needing them for awhile.