I Cut The Line

A few days ago I was boarding an early flight. The airline boards in groups so I waited for my group to line up. Many people had already moved ahead of me and instead of going to the back I cut the line and slid into the lineup about 3/4 of the way back. And it wasn’t until I was actually in the jetway getting on the plan that I realized what I had done. 

It baffled me. I’m the type of person that cares about living with integrity. I notice when other people cut line in front of me and believe that it’s the wrong thing to do. Yet that’s exactly what I did. I’ll take responsibility for the choice, but also want to shed light on how that happened.

The choices we make are either conscious, unconscious, or semi-conscious. Semi-conscious decisions involve both conscious and unconscious elements. On one hand you are aware of the choice you make when you do it, it doesn’t happen on its own. And on the other there are many unconscious elements that influence what happened.

Here’s what was happening in my mind. I semi-consciously reasoned that cutting the line was an acceptable thing to do. There were only 10 people who were going to be affected by it, and all of them were looking away and I didn’t think they’d notice or know any different. To get to the back of the line I had to take the long way around, so there was added friction on an already tired and early morning. And where I slid in there was a big gap in the line that I could easily fit into. All of those elements had me semi-consciously rationalize that cutting the line was an acceptable thing to do.

We’re being influenced by factors like this at all times and they steer our decision making in ways we’re not fully present to. In this case it caused me to act outside of my values. The more we know it’s happening and the more we can probe into how it happens, the better we can control it and make decisions we’re proud of, and ultimately live the lives we want to live.

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