Happy Sunday Everyone-
I was at the airport early Friday morning for a 6:00AM flight to the east coast. People aren’t exactly excited to be at an airport that early, including me. The folks I’ve noticed are the least excited, at times, are the TSA folks. Kim and I were flying out a couple weeks ago and I honestly think one of the ladies working there was going out of her way to drive misery into all who went by her. “next, neXT, NEXT, NEXXXXTTTT. This pour elderly woman had the misfortune of looking down at her ticket while the TSA lady was calling on her. It was a full verbal assault about the line being long, her causing delays, etc. I know I’m overly observant of human behavior, but Kim looked at me like “wow”. I literally could feel my anxiety levels rising and I believe everyone else could too. You got your bags, and you were just thinking “get me the hell out of here”.
Fast forward to this past Friday, we get through the ticket line now we’re going through the machine for our bags. Its SFO, it’s the new system where you stand in a group of 5, the bag thing pops up, you put your bag in it, and away you go. This TSA guy has a little sparkle to him. I noticed before it was my turn “good morning, everyone, we’re all in this together, let’s do a great job with our bags today”. “Watch out for your personal items, phones/watches, I’ll keep em if I see them so, please so put them your bags”. I just happened to make eye contact with a lady going through, she looked back, we both smiled about this guy. He was just nice. He was going out of his way to throw a little extra goodness out there and it was felt by everyone around him. I thanked him and he gave me my all-time favorite response, “my pleasure”.
Call it a coincidence but both trips to the airport were SFO, both were early in the morning, both were Friday. I’m not sure if there was a glitch in the system one day causing delays, or less people traveling this past Friday, but there was a complete difference in the room. The travelers, the TSA folks, this guy, the line overall. The Friday 2 weeks ago people were on top of each other, trying to get their bags off, not helping put the bins back. This Friday felt like a team of strangers coming together to make it a great experience for everyone to get their bags. No joke, Kim and I got our bags and walked off and said, “that was weirdly cool and easy”.
It’s a worthwhile thought to consider the energy you bring to the room. It’s also worth considering what that energy does to others. Are you lifting people up? knocking them down? creating synergy? creating isolation? creating teamwork? The TSA guy said something so simple, and so profound; “we’re all in this together”. We are all in this together. It’s a fact.
I think we’d all be better if we were more intentional in considering the energy we’re bring to the room we happen to be standing in.
Thanks for taking the time to read this! Have a great rest of your Sunday!