Why is waiting such a problem?

November 3, 2010 5:25pm CST
These days most people I see while out and about tend to be in a rush, which seems people avoid waiting even if it's no more than a few minutes. I was at the bank the other day and the que was fairly long, I personally had waited for about 10 minutes to be scene and after me it was fairly dead but people just walked in and out. I know people are growing inpatient but I really don't see the problem myself. It's like the other day I was in a mini supermarket and there was really big que which was moving very slowly, this guy and his partner went around grabbing to baskets full of shopping and waited for a few seconds, before the guy turned around and said "lets forget it, we'll go get a take-away and pick this up another day". Fair enough the que was big but isn't it a waste of time to pick things up to only work away? If I'm in a rush and I need to que somewhere, I have a look at what it's like and if I don't think I will be served in time I leave. Why is waiting such a problem? Do you avoid long ques?
6 people like this
21 responses
@carmelanirel (20942)
• United States
3 Nov 10
I think by "que" you mean lines? I really don't mind much, it depends on how tired I am or if I am in a hurry..sometimes if I have time to kill, I will take a longer line...
3 Nov 10
Thanks for your response. Certain situations like traffic jams for example I think it's wise to avoid, although I always wonder what makes people think waiting for shopping etc isn't worth it especially when they went for a certain reason. Cheers!
2 people like this
• United States
4 Nov 10
traffic jams are not so bad as long as I am warm, (or cool if it is summertime) and I have my music..lol
@maezee (41997)
• United States
4 Nov 10
VThis is what our society is all about and what it's coming to with modern technology! It's ridiculous. People are always in a rush and it shows a lot with retail things, such as fast-food, drop boxes, ATMS, and so on. More and more services are being automatic, quicker, but at the same time, less "personal".
1 person likes this
@tammytwo (4298)
• United States
4 Nov 10
I agree that we have become very impatient and things are much less personal.
• United States
5 Nov 10
Waiting is so difficult because we have been tuned to a rhythm of speed..We have the drive thru restaurants.. drive through pharmacies..microwaves.. hi speed internet.. WE are a society that has become fine tuned to hurry.. It's sad but it the temp that society has set ..
@bounce58 (17387)
• Canada
5 Nov 10
I think society has ingrained it in our minds that our time is precious. That nobody has the right to waste our time. That's why we hate waiting in queues so much. Personally I'm always in a rush because if I'm not at work earning money, I'd rather be at home with my kids. Maybe society has helped train my mind to think this way, but a part of me just wants to be around family all the time.
• United States
4 Nov 10
I have a theory on my wait time anywhere I go. Depending on my availability I will patiently await. However, if I am pressed for time, I do not get upset and try to work a work around and come back another day. See I have enough going in my life to allow wait times to upset me as simply if we all could remember that even when we die there is a wait time to be buried. If everyone understood that life simply cannot be rushed it would lead to pleasant encounters and much happier people.
1 person likes this
@2004cqui (2812)
• United States
3 Nov 10
Here, on the freeways everyone wants to be first. They will "eat you alive" just to be first. Hurry, hurry, hurry. People are rude to each other to speed things up even in line! I hate it.
1 person likes this
3 Nov 10
I can see why certain traffic situations would be best to avoid and your correct people are very rude to each other. I sometimes laugh when I see people who get annoyed because they're stuck in traffic, not that I should but I really think common sense comes into it. If your not going to move for awhile, why wind the people around you up? Can get ugly sometimes... Thanks for your response.
@derek_a (10874)
4 Nov 10
I would agree with you that waiting is a great problem in this day and age and I often observe people standing in a queue at the bank getting impatients and often walking away rather than waiting. As a Zen practitioner I practice the art of focusing on the moment of now, and when I have to wait, will focus on the art of waiting. Just standing in line experiencing whatever there is to experience. Why should I be in such a hurry to get through my daily life. By getting impatient things tend to get done slower anway, and stress levels are increased. No hurry, no worry - that is my attitude in life. _Derek
• Philippines
4 Nov 10
As much as possible I avoid queues. I mean, it's not that I'm impatient but I believe there are better things to do that wait in a queue. If it's inevitable and that I need to fall in a long line because it is not possible to have a short one then I'll do so. But while waiting I'll do something so that not much time will be wasted. Often times, we avoid queues because we are in a rush or things are already scheduled. As for me, I really find the perfect time when there are no much people so I can't be waiting for a long time.
@drannhh (15219)
• United States
4 Nov 10
I tend to avoid long lines, but it is the traffic stalls I cannot understand people getting heated over. I have a friend who just goes berserkers if there is the slightest delay. I wonder what is the fuss all about. We are sitting down, after all! There is probably a correlation between this kind of reaction and high blood pressure ;-)
@sender621 (14894)
• United States
4 Nov 10
Some people do not have a lot of patience. Waiting can be a problem for them. We live in a world where we want instant gratification. We don't like to wait for things to happen.
• Portugal
4 Nov 10
the problem is that nowadays people are always busy^^ or they need to go work, or need to go other place. stress is all over the places. so thats why people hate to wait and sometimes dont wait. about me i also dont like to wait but i have to sometimes. what can we do? maybe later on when we come back is the same or worse. is ok to wait if we dont have a big appointment to go to. bcs if we have i agree that they come back later^^
@Sanitary (3968)
• Singapore
4 Nov 10
I don't like to wait as well when I'm in a rush. Otherwise, I'm fine with it. Waiting may not be a bad thing after all because it might speed up other areas of waiting. For example, i'm queueing for almost 15mins for my turn to pay, but once I'm out of there, my bus arrives the moment I reach the bus stop. Waiting is a cycle, it's either we wait for this or that. Nobody can avoid waiting at all because we are not the only ones in the world.
@saqi78 (1402)
• Malaysia
4 Nov 10
Yes, it is recommended to avoid long queue, I personally avoid long queue like traffic jams etc, I dont like to go out at rush hours, but when it is necessary to go out then I choose my way where there ll not be long waiting. Waiting for some one is really very disturbing, it ll make you tired, even in one or two minutes, during waiting it looks that times just stopped now they did really very good by installing timers on the roads now we can count the timer and can easily pass our time...:)
@reenak (3)
4 Nov 10
Our lives have become so busy now-a-days that waiting seems to be an impossible task! I personally avoid long queues unless I have something important like banking, paying the bill etc. When it comes to shopping, I prefer going on my day off in the afternoon when there is less rush.
@tammytwo (4298)
• United States
4 Nov 10
Waiting is a problem because we have become a society of impatient people. We want what we want when we want it and that is right now. No one wants to wait for anything anymore. We all want instant gratification and when we don't get it we tend to lose our patience.
@winterose (39887)
• Canada
4 Nov 10
I am disabled so I cannot do long queues. My back will just hurt too much but you are right, most people are very impatient and they will not wait. We live in a world of instant gratification, we want everything instantly.
@AmbiePam (85447)
• United States
4 Nov 10
I guess we live in such a fast paced society that we expect everything and everyone to move along as quickly as possible. We're impatient people. Drive thrus, express lanes...
@shia88 (4571)
• Malaysia
4 Nov 10
Hi, For me, waiting is not real problem provided I have time to wait,or else, I will just walk off and get it done another day. I also need to see the importance of the matter that I need to accomplish. Let's take an example,when going to bank, I always need to queue up for my turn and sometimes the queue can be pretty long.but I have the need to do my banking transaction and no matter how long I have to wait, I have to do so. and I must have the patience to do so. But when come to shopping at supermarket or deparment store, I hate for long queue and I will choose the things I want another day.
@asendud (318)
• Indonesia
4 Nov 10
i think it is depend on what wait. example if you want go to toilet and toilet is full that is a problem to wait.. but i think the real problem is when you wait what do you want, and what you can do just wait. maybe that make people don't like to wait, people always trying to get what he want not just wait until he get.
@Vixxen (19)
• Netherlands
3 Nov 10
I personally hate waiting.. if I want something, I want it NOW! I hate ques especially in banks as that makes me to start thinking horrible thoughts about the people waiting lol! But we live in a fast paced world now which means waiting is a curse, if u wait, you wont get so why wait?? haha