Seize the Moment

We stepped off the plane into the US. We had flown for 12 hours, been in the process of traveling for 18 hours, and it was now 4am-ish in the morning.  Our trip had been wonderful and we were in the last leg of our journey – a 6am, 1.5-hour connecting flight to our final destination.  We moved through customs, went through security and rechecked our bags, and made our way to the platform to catch the shuttle that was scheduled to take us from Terminal C to Terminal A.  Every aspect of our trip had been beautiful, until now.

The shuttle was not yet in operation when we arrived on the platform; the shuttle was in the form of a metro-train. “No problem,” I thought, “surely they will have one moving soon so that we may catch our connecting flight. We still have enough time.”

We waited, along with a small group of others, facing the one shuttle that looked like it was in operation – especially since the marquee had signage and arrows pointing in the direction of the shuttle that we were waiting to board; I will call this Shuttle A.  An employee told us to go to the other side of the platform and wait for the other shuttle (Shuttle B) to begin operation.

That is when things began to fall apart.  Have you ever had things fall-apart immediately following some of the best moments in your life?   If yes, then you know the feeling. Yet even in those times, our responses to such tend to dictate the outcomes.

The crowd had grown, and Shuttle A had arrived, stopped in front of us, and opened and closed its doors; there were even people on the shuttle…possibly employees? People began to question the directives of the employee, making comments such as:

• Well the sign says to get on the other shuttle (A).
• The other shuttle (A) is operating, why are you telling us to get on this one (B)?
• Did we just miss our shuttle?
• How do you know that they want us to get on the other shuttle (B)?
• Are you sure?

Now imagine, a crowd of about 20+ people repeatedly asking the same questions listed above, and then some. Another employee was there and he tried to support his colleague, but then he fell silent and began shaking his head.

There was almost a mini riot.

We in our group, for the most part, had just watched and listened as we chatted among ourselves. I became concerned that we were going to miss our connecting flight.

The first employee walked off the platform in frustration as another employee arrived.  The first employee soon returned walking in the opposite direction with her bag, moved through the crowd, and down the opposite platform.  Where was she going?  Was she leaving?  We surmised she was either ending an overnight shift early or leaving shortly after she arrived – which appeared to be the accurate assumption.

The newly arrived, more seasoned employee was firm in her directives.  She assured us we had time to get to our connecting flights. She began to offer alternatives in the interim, such as patiently waiting, walking outside of the terminal (about three levels down) and catching a shuttle bus, or to walk to the other terminal.

People were angry and began to ask her the same questions.  Most notably, when asked, “How do you know that they want us to get on the other shuttle,” she confidently and sarcastically answered, “because I work here!”

When the employee repeated that we just needed to be patient, that there was plenty of time to connect to our next flights, my Mother went and showed her the boarding pass that indicated we had, at this point, about 35 minutes to board. The employee looked at my Mother, looked at us, and began to shake her head as if saying, “You’re not going to make it.”

She repeated her solutions.

We had to make a choice. Stay and wait, catch the shuttle bus, or walk.  We – and a handful of others – decided to catch the shuttle bus.

Let’s just say more confusion ensued from other employees, and when we went outside to catch the shuttle bus, there was none to be found except the one that passed on the opposite side of the road and never stopped; it was the only one that we saw.

What was going on?  In that last moment, we decided to hoof it – pulling and carrying our carry-on luggage and everything else.

We were outside of Terminal C and began to briskly walk toward Terminal A; it was still dark outside. The railway for the shuttle was elevated on our left.  I kept glancing at the railway to see if the shuttle ever appeared. It did not.

About a mile later, going through security once again, and finding our gate, we arrived just in time to board our connecting flight.  Had we delayed only a few more minutes, or even walked less intently, we would have missed our flight.

As we sat on the plane and caught our breath, the whole experience reminded me of opportunities and decision-making. The four following points consists of what I learned from the experience.

Opportunities come in varying forms.  There are the once-in-a-lifetime opportunities and others that reoccur.  There are large-scale, small-scale, and everything in between kinds of opportunities – some of which turn out to be distractions, while others – if ignored – become missed ventures.  A challenge exists in knowing what kind of opportunity is being presented when such occurs.

Delayed responses to opportunities may be costly and cause other missed opportunities. There is a ripple effect for each decision that is made.  If we had opted to wait and then missed our flight, then rebooking a later flight was available. I’d like to think the airline would not have charged us because of the non-operating shuttle, but I do not know for sure. Thus, we may have paid more money for airfare and definitely parking.

Indecision may be costly to future opportunities. Furthermore, some opportunities become available only after seizing a different opportunity.

Most importantly, because we made a decision and responded, we arrived home in enough time for one of my travel companions to attend something that was only occurring that day; a missed flight would have most likely caused her to miss the opportunity to attend. Again, each decision results in a ripple effect, both positively and negatively.

Seize the moment.  There are times when the window of opportunity is wide-open for an extended period of time, and other times when an immediate decision is warranted.

It takes wisdom to know how to respond. The key is to make a decision instead of allowing fear, frustration and indecision to steal the moment.

The decision to seize an opportunity may result in a different path than imagined.  When we made the decision to take the shuttle bus, we did not imagine we’d end up having to hike a mile to get to our destination.  We were supposed to get on the shuttle and ease our way over to Terminal A.  Notwithstanding, we had to take a different route to get to where we were going.  It was not fun, we were tired and slightly irritated (or at least I was), but the end result was worth the effort.

Seizing opportunities may be exhilarating as well as frightening or unpleasant at first. More energy may be required than initially imagined, but seize the moment anyway. There may be those who look at you with thoughts of doubts radiating from their eyes, such as, “You’re not going to make it.” Move forward anyway.

Most folks regret the chances they didn’t take, so seize the moment, for in the end the effort will be worth the risk.  And if it’s not and failure ensues, know that as long as life exists and a new day dawns, then there’s the opportunity to get up, dust off, and to seize the next moment.

Join me next week as I talk about The Journey.