Wrong Airport, Right Direction?

I flew across Germany last week. My journey began in the early morning in Berlin, as I patiently rode the southbound train towards the wrong airport.

I cannot blame the airline. My ticket clearly displayed ‘TXL’ but I hadn’t bothered to double-check.

Discovering my mistake, I re-traced my steps across the city, but it was too late. When I arrived at the correct airport, my plane was already in the air and I needed to re-book another ticket for later that day, and wait.

Of course, this mistake could easily have been avoided if I’d re-checked my ticket details the night before my flight. And of course, in addition to being embarrassing to admit, this mistake required me to pay for a new ticket and spend many hours running between and waiting inside Berlin’s two airports.

But… I accept this type of inconvenience because I no longer see these mistakes as a loss, but instead as a trade.

I missed my flight and went to the wrong airport because I was intently focused on learning Chinese vocabulary.

Riding the southbound train, I was elated with my progress. The words I had learned just that morning, and the new sentence structure I finally understood, gave me such a feeling of correct self-direction and progress, even as my train raced in the incorrect direction.

If you offered me a trade, to either arrive on time to every flight or to speak Chinese in the next 5 years, I would pick the Chinese.

If this means I must periodically re-book a plane ticket, arrive at the incorrect address, or walk in the rain having forgotten an umbrella, I can accept that. (Of course, I will also try to make better plans.)

If I appear absent-minded at times, or must endure momentary embarrassment and stress, this is also acceptable.

The inconveniences are a small price to pay if in exchange, I can remain more focused and make more progress towards my large, important, long-term goals.