Why worry?

Since I can't get anywhere directly from where I live, I often worry that my original flight will be delayed and thereby make me miss my connecting flight to wherever it is I'm going. I've travelled a lot and in fact this has only happened a few times, but I still worry about it EVERY, SINGLE. TIME.

Lisa, as Bill Clinton famously said, "I feel your pain."

I'm always nervous about making connections, and at least twice did my best version of an Olympic sprinter making it to the gate in the nick of time.

We had a tight connection in Reykjavik, and naturally I was pulled aside for an interview. We made our flight but it was close. The Icelanders were very pleasant, however, and we talked about their first-rate football/soccer team. I'm glad I showered just before the flight as I had to take off shoes, socks, and more.

I have lived well and very successfully with the approach that I only worry about things I can control. If I cannot control it, it is not on the radar. Sometimes drives my wife nuts who tend to worry a lot. But it also helps to focus on what is important. A second idea I follow is, "A second rate decision well implemented is vastly superior to a first rate decision poorly implemented." Sometimes, (often times) there is not a perfect answer or solution. Those two maxims have served me well for 50+ years. ------ And, right now, is the best example I can give.

PS We do not engage in micro-planning as is common with many posters. We do big picture planning but not hour by hour. But we are of the old school where you would hit the TI on arrival.

Words of wisdom from Frank, as he often provides. I try not to worry before traveling, and planning carefully helps reduce the unknowns to those I can't control. The more you know about where you're going and how you're getting there, the more prepared you'll be if something goes awry. Plan B will present itself more easily.

Mike's Iceland experience isn't something he would have "worried about prior to traveling," it's something that unexpectedly happened during the trip and could have left him stranded in Reykjavik. (There are worse fates.) Twice we have found ourselves in Europe when a volcano in Iceland disrupted our planned flights home and made us anxious. Both times Icelandair got us home with a few hiccups (like running between terminals in Manchester).

My wife worries more than I do, in general, and this has led to some early departures from home on winter trips to avoid snow forecasts. Last year a snow forecast got us down to LA several days earlier than planned -- our last trip before Covid. As it turned out the snow didn't happen at home, but we got in some sightseeing and family visiting with the extra time. So, que sera sera.

I took a group of 20 people to Ireland once on a trip completely planned and implemented by me, including hiring a coach for the 10 day trip. The night before we left, I had actual nightmares about the coach not showing up at the airport. I should have slept more - everything was fine.

I worry that when I buy the deluxe lunch combo from the Boudin stall at SFO with a turkey/avocado on fresh sourdough, giant cookie, and bag of chips, that the gate agent will count the bag as my personal item when I am boarding, so maybe I should try to stuff it into my RS convertible carry-on, and if it's a little hectic while boarding I will forget to take it back out again before stowing the carry-on, and then I won't be able to eat the first half of the sandwich before we start taxiing to the runway, and since I requested extra mayo, the wrapper might leak and funkify the contents of my carry-on,
and then I'll have to buy something more substantial from the cart and the charge from the in-flight service representative's handheld credit-card reader will show up on my account as taking place wherever the plane originates from and that will confuse the bank once I get wherever I'm going and try to use the card to pay for dinner.

But usually none of that happens and I enjoy the sandwich at my seat with the complimentary beverage service and then I may get one of the snack boxes anyway.

My opinion on this might be completely different and opposite from others' experiences, but it's personally one that I found to be true. Ensuring everything is planned ahead of time, like reservations at overnight places and activities to do while traveling can sometimes not be necessary. I used to be so worried about making reservations for every night prior to leaving my home city and ensuring that all the activities we wanted to do were being planned ahead of time. I realized, after more travelling experiences, that it\s sometimes nice to not have places reserved and activities planned ahead of time, as you may find you enjoy certain areas in a city after being there for a few days and want to stay there instead of where you may have originally booked. We ended up with way less free time in Amsterdam than originally thought because ew enjoyed walking around the city so much that we didn't feel like we needed to fil time with other activities, and we were happy that we hadn't made reservations prior to our trip.

Avi, you had me in stitches. Enjoy your future sandwiches. WanderingTraveler, so true. We found the same as our trips progressed. But, I am afraid that travel after Covid will need to have reservations for every site, maybe not the bathrooms. It will be interesting to see after travel starts up again. As to worrying. I don’t as much as I used to. Our phones have taken that away. Worried about traffic on the way to the airport? An app will let you know if there is traffic and give you an alternative route. Need to find a bus in London, an app. Your flight is delayed, a text will tell you. Want to know if there is a strike in Paris, an app. If you worried about the unknown, it can all be now known. Years ago I did worry about pickpockets/scams but after reading so much here and watching YouTube videos, I don’t worry about that much anymore. Maybe wisdom really does come with age.

Other than missing flight connections, which I don’t really consider too neurotic, probably my go-to worry is that the hotel will not have a room or our reservation. I carry wads of printouts, in the magical belief that pieces of paper will suddenly make vacant rooms materialize or correct some error. Over many years it happened only once, in London, and the hotel handled it so beautifully that we sometimes hope for another mess up. To reassure myself I fall back on a quote I found years ago from 16th century French philosopher Michel de Montaigne: “My life has been full of terrible misfortunes most of which never happened.” I think Mark Twain had a similar thought. Stay safe all.

I'm fanatical about my travel documents, especially my passport. Leading up to the trip I'm constantly double, triple and quadruple checking that my passport is in a safe spot and hasn't walked away. Even as we're heading out of the house to the airport I'm constantly checking that it's still with me.

Avi, thanks for the laugh.

Allan, I'm the same way with my passport. And Stan's bad about losing/misplacing/or even leaving behind his credit and debit cards. Not much I can do about that, except always make sure I have mine. And the bank's phone number.

Avi - my nominee for Post of The Month ...

That was a phenomenal response from Avi. Agreed, Boudin bakery is a great choice for sourdough sandwiches. I've often worried that they would run out of bread by the time of my (often late) layover at SFO.

Haven't really thought about this before. so I guess I don't worry about anything that relates to an impending trip!
The one thing might be if a vacation rental apartment wasn't up to scratch when we got there.
That's only happened once in over 25 European rentals, and it still makes for a good travel story about it.

I worry that I won’t get enough sleep the night before an early morning flight. This only results in ensuring that I will be awake most of the night and miserable for the next 24 hours plus!

I still have flash backs to the mid-90's July 4th weekend my brother and DH insisted on "just one more" beer.. We literally did the OJ/Avis dash through Boston airport (pre-dig holiday traffic & rental car return).. NEVER again - deal is - we get to airport at least the minimum recommended by "TSA" - then he can have all the beer he wishes- to heck with the $$. Flash forward to 2016 - waved goodby to friend as he drove our car from airport drop off - and realized my carryon was on the backseat - his phone was dead - called other friend to meet him and send him back to the airport. Thank goodness TPA isn't far from our house and we were so early (& important papers were in my purse). Great part was, I knew the check in staff - had time to talk with her and she kindly upgraded our seating. Never appreciated free drinks service so much!

I use to have a terrible fear of an impending travel disaster. Since I started carrying my own rolls of two ply quilted T.P. I no longer suffer over the expectation of my accommodations having substandard T.P. I have discovered that this isnt necessary when visiting Islamic countries. Western Europeans could learn a few things from then. I have even discovered that when asked what to bring friends in Europe, that i have the most obvious and appreciated answer; American T.P.

TP vs. the sandwich ---- And the winner is ------- ????

And the winner is ------- ????

Sandwich. Or soup in bread bowl. There's nothing like fresh sourdough from SF.

The Japanese would think our TP as primitive at best - after all, they have wonder washlets like Toto which don't require TP at all...that's the future, my friends.

I get the Boudin sandwich combo all the time at SFO and no one cares, except for a random jealous seat mate.

My biggest worry is that there will be no overhead space for my carry on. Something tells me I'm not alone on this one!

This may be the wrong approach but worrying motivates me to prepare.

I was worried and scared of competition when I was, um, competing, and that focused my training and go me up early in the morning.

I worry about coaching and lesson-planning, so it motivates me to prepare, or over-prepare. Paralysis by analysis, sometimes.

It is good advice to not worry about things out of your control, but easier said than done.

Tom Petty is an American treasure. Just throwing that out there.

In my 50s we took our college-aged daughters to Australia. They were determined to climb the Sydney Harbor Bridge. I have bad knees, among other health issues. I prepped for months with strengthening exercises because I couldn't get the websites "1332 steps" out of my head. I was not at all sure this was going to work....but as BigMike (and Tom Petty) points out, it was all for naught. The steps had a small rise and a "relatively" gentle slope. And the guide kept us so entertained that I barely noticed my knees. I often look at the picture of the four of us atop that bridge and think "I'm so glad I did it!"

The Japanese would think our TP as primitive at best - after all, they
have wonder washlets like Toto which don't require TP at all...that's
the future, my friends.

Thats old news in much of the Islamic world. Maybe not as fancy, but same end result. Its a religious issue, which is something I have in common with the Islamic world

Our family is notoriously early for two things - flights & baseball games, so I don’t worry about catching our flight.

My biggest worry has been that when we (or I traveling solo) arrive at a tiny lane and find the nondescript thick wood door with an antique handle in the center of it and ring the bell, the B&B owner won’t be there to answer the door. It’s only happened once - at Lucca, Italy, and they also owned the restaurant next door so I inquired there.

Oooh, actually my biggest worry would have to be that the person sitting next to me on the plane is drenched in cologne or just ate a lot of garlic. I am allergic to a lot of scents that will trigger a migraine.

I worry I haven’t paid enough attention to Tom Petty’s lyrics! American Treasure indeed.

Avi - oh my gosh, such a response and if I’m honest, I can say I’ve had for real worries not too dissimilar (I’m sure my kiddo can relate from my frantic concerns in past travels, in fact, I’ll ask him next zoom) thanks for shining a light there. Ergo shoulda paid more attention to Tom’s lyrics ... sigh

I worry--starting way in advance--that I'll miss my bus/train/subway, get on the wrong one, or miss my stop. I grew up riding trains and buses, but have lived too long in a rural mass transit desert.

My biggest worry is that there will be no overhead space for my carry
on. Something tells me I'm not alone on this one!

Definitely not alone. Because of my height I really have no space to put anything under my seat if the overhead's are full . Therefore I get anxious and want to be early in line when our zone is called. My wife doesn't understand the fuss as she's only 5' tall and could fit everyone's luggage under her seat and still have space left over.

I am generally nervous the last couple of days before I leave. As soon as I am at the airport I relax.

However, as I think about routine, on the day of I guess I am afraid of not waking up on time and missing my flight. I plan to be at the airport about 6:00 AM, so I set at least two alarms. (I am not a morning person.)

"Worry is a misuse of imagination"
I try to keep this in mind but as stated by many... easier said than done. I am unable to "wing it" and therefore overplan. The list of options is intentionally too long so it can be edited according to time, interest and energy.
Seems I'm the planner no matter who I travel with, so my biggest worry is that someone will be disappointed or not have a great time. Always unfounded... because hey we're traveling! What's not to like😊

Ufkak, that is a great quote “The more you travel, the less you worry.” I am pretty sure it was meant in regard to worry about what could go wrong when you travel, but I think it is probably has a larger life application also.

Passports and being early for the flight. My wife finally took both passports because I continually check to make sure I have them. Our son jokes, "Mom and Dad get to the airport 3 days early so they don't miss their plane".

I adhere to the famed words of Alfred E. Neuman:

"What, me worry?"

https://images.app.goo.gl/BWgsq24vC66L7H276

Kaye, I find myself glad you did it, too!

Allan and Steveh, some day I'm going to drive myself crazy checking for my passport, tickets, passes, and wallet every few minutes.

How about that adrenaline rush when something isn't where you thought it was, so you pat yourself down as if you're arresting yourself.

How about that adrenaline rush when something isn't where you thought
it was, so you pat yourself down as if you're arresting yourself.

I have a consistent place for everything to be easily found when I get to the airport...until I stupidly decide that it makes better sense to put it somewhere else. Then I get to the airport and automatically reach for where the item used to be and it's not there. Mentioned adrenaline rush begins.

Allan, thats me too

At one time I have had similar problems but for me the solution has always been lists, lots and lots of lists. When I was an undergraduate my university required a one credit hour time management course for all students. The big take away for me was the idea of taking the first hour of the day to reflect on the day and coming days as to priorities and needs --- and write it down. For me it has been a great habit and even in retirement I still use my first morning cup to "organize" the day and week. When we travel we have lists for just about everything. Packing list for each piece of luggage including carry-on. And the list stays with the luggage so as we travel it is a good check list to make sure everything gets repacked. For example -- if concerned about whether the passports are in the shoulder bag or not, I check the list. I scan the list for the bag. If it is checked off, I know the passports are in the bag and I don't bother looking for the passports themselves since I know they are there. Our sons joked about our lists (but notice they have the same habit.) One son said, "I am sure Dad has a list for his funeral." Not yet -- but working on it.

Frank, I like your sense of humor. The morning routine seems sound. I prefer making notes in the evening before going to bed so I don't lay there thinking about it.

Here, this should help: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d-diB65scQU

Today I worry we won’t ever see carefree travel again.

Avi, oh my gosh, I can so identify!!!

Definitely response of the month,

Although James's “religious feeling” is pretty good too!!

Ufkak, maybe booze has gotten us this far?

As Hank Williams sang,

Just a deck of cards
and a jug of wine
And a woman's lies makes a life like mine

Kim, this is a pretty worldly group and I suspect you and most of the others know this, but for the few that dont: For a Muslim to pray he must be absolutely clean of all __________. Which means that they have a somewhat higher standard of cleanliness than others. I work with a large number of Muslims who always give me a good hearted hard time for the nasty hygiene of Christians. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Islamictoilet_etiquette

Which has nothing to do with my personal "need" for a good thick, soft, two-ply.

As someone who has been stationed in the Middle East, well, no comment or I'll get in trouble again.

edit: raquel, we will see normal again. I promise.

I get your drift. I was more touching on religioi tradition, not practice.

Avi just needs to wrap that sandwich in James E.’s absorbent two-ply tissue. Problem solved, plus the sourdough bread gets some extra cushioning, and there’s even a paper napkin when all is said and done.