In starting this i fear it could be completely hypocritical and for that i apologise in advance.
The more i think about it, the more i believe that more than anything else society nowadays lacks patience.
Perhaps it is because we are so convenienced by technology that allows us to communicate across countries and time zones, the fact that we no longer have to walk anywhere or that the Internet can provide you everything necessary for survival all with the click of a mouse.
This reliance on technology has seemingly convenienced us so much but like Newton declares 'every action has a equal and opposite reaction' and upon examination these conveniences equally inconvenience us just as much.
It is because we are so used to getting the things we want immediately no one is prepared to wait anymore and when we are circumstantially forced to wait, these delays are met with unnecessary anger.
I catch trains frequently. I have done so now for the better part of a decade and as a consequence have grown used to delays. Admittedly when my trip is extended by three hours it can be a little tiring but when a three minute delay is met with swearing, air punching and repetitive verbal abuse (Displacement as Freud would describe it) i have to wonder is it really worth you expending all that energy into anger. You could choose to sit there and continue to read your paper in peace, or listen to your ipod, hey i would rather listen to you karaoke along than be sworn at but instead the majority choose anger and as a result are angry for the rest of the trip. Three minutes for most is going to have little effect. In driving home getting a green light will make up that time no worries- i just don't see why society chooses to be angry.
That said, this can be applied to road rage. When traffic lights are out or roadwork is underway people get so furious without due cause that accidents increase and generally everyone leaves feeling worse, all because we feel so inconvenienced.
Waiting in line, another prime example. People get mad when the number system of a deli fails or they have to wait ten minutes for a prescription. Over the weekend a customer came to work and the pharmacist kindly organised some things for them. The pharmacist was not obliged, did not know this customer but did it just to help them. Five minutes in to the pharmacist organising arrangements, the customer came to me and angrily said and i quote "I'm still waiting." I felt that so unnecessarily rude i didn't know how to react.
I think everyone needs to take a second to rationalise situations before feeling inconvenienced and then angry. Honestly, most situations that are deemed inconveniences will be resolved quickly. We need to learn to be patient, slowing down just a tad would not be the worst thing in the world.
Summarising: Technology has made many of our daily activities much more convenient. However, our reliance on convenience has seen an expectation of convenience arise to the point that now when we arent convienved it is seen as an inconvenience. We have to question are we ever really inconvenienced? or it just we are not convenienced? I know that it is implied that they are opposites, but does that mean we are always either convenienced or inconvenienced we're never just happy.
Confusing i know, but i wish sometimes people would replace their anger and impatience with a smile, it would make the world a much much better place.
The more i think about it, the more i believe that more than anything else society nowadays lacks patience.
Perhaps it is because we are so convenienced by technology that allows us to communicate across countries and time zones, the fact that we no longer have to walk anywhere or that the Internet can provide you everything necessary for survival all with the click of a mouse.
This reliance on technology has seemingly convenienced us so much but like Newton declares 'every action has a equal and opposite reaction' and upon examination these conveniences equally inconvenience us just as much.
It is because we are so used to getting the things we want immediately no one is prepared to wait anymore and when we are circumstantially forced to wait, these delays are met with unnecessary anger.
I catch trains frequently. I have done so now for the better part of a decade and as a consequence have grown used to delays. Admittedly when my trip is extended by three hours it can be a little tiring but when a three minute delay is met with swearing, air punching and repetitive verbal abuse (Displacement as Freud would describe it) i have to wonder is it really worth you expending all that energy into anger. You could choose to sit there and continue to read your paper in peace, or listen to your ipod, hey i would rather listen to you karaoke along than be sworn at but instead the majority choose anger and as a result are angry for the rest of the trip. Three minutes for most is going to have little effect. In driving home getting a green light will make up that time no worries- i just don't see why society chooses to be angry.
That said, this can be applied to road rage. When traffic lights are out or roadwork is underway people get so furious without due cause that accidents increase and generally everyone leaves feeling worse, all because we feel so inconvenienced.
Waiting in line, another prime example. People get mad when the number system of a deli fails or they have to wait ten minutes for a prescription. Over the weekend a customer came to work and the pharmacist kindly organised some things for them. The pharmacist was not obliged, did not know this customer but did it just to help them. Five minutes in to the pharmacist organising arrangements, the customer came to me and angrily said and i quote "I'm still waiting." I felt that so unnecessarily rude i didn't know how to react.
I think everyone needs to take a second to rationalise situations before feeling inconvenienced and then angry. Honestly, most situations that are deemed inconveniences will be resolved quickly. We need to learn to be patient, slowing down just a tad would not be the worst thing in the world.
Summarising: Technology has made many of our daily activities much more convenient. However, our reliance on convenience has seen an expectation of convenience arise to the point that now when we arent convienved it is seen as an inconvenience. We have to question are we ever really inconvenienced? or it just we are not convenienced? I know that it is implied that they are opposites, but does that mean we are always either convenienced or inconvenienced we're never just happy.
Confusing i know, but i wish sometimes people would replace their anger and impatience with a smile, it would make the world a much much better place.
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