Have you noticed how long it takes to do certain things like call a billing office and wait for a return call, upgrade software on your computer, or call Technical Support or Customer Service? These things tend to take inordinate amounts of time, and for me, a LOT of patience.

A few things tend to happen. 1) The specific person I need to speak to isn’t there, so I need to leave a message. Waiting for the call back can take forever, and sometimes, they don’t even call back and I have to start all over. 2) A seemingly simple issue can take half an hour or more to resolve. 3) I have to interact with a person who doesn’t speak English well or has a bad attitude the size of a small country.

I used to get really angry at these obstacles. Truth is that even when it’s no one’s fault, the sheer amount of wasted time is hard to take graciously. But I don’t get angry anymore. I try to be philosophical. For one thing, getting belligerent tends to make the entire process slower. For another, it just ruins my disposition, and that tends to bleed out all over the rest of my day.

To some extent, it’s entitlement. I used to feel entitled to quick, efficient service. (To be fair, when I was growing up, we did actually have quick, efficient service. But times have changed, and it doesn’t pay to dwell on what was.) Impatience is completely wasted. While it is true that the squeaky wheel gets the grease, it’s equally true that you can get more flies with honey then vinegar. It’s also true to at least some extent that we make our reality. If we get caught up in the negativity of a situation, we tend to hang on to that attitude and view other things through that same grumpy lens. I didn’t seem to be able to control that in my youth. I can now. At least most of the time.

So, today, and for the next week, while I can’t use my brand new laptop (don’t even ask me how long I spent trying to fix this) I’m going to try to be accepting. I’ll just make do. In five years, I won’t remember this. I’m definitely not happy about it, but I’m not going to sit and stew, either.

So the moral of the story isn’t to think positively, it’s that there ARE advantages to ripe old age, if you do it right!