Change. Dispensed Here.

I like to think I have calmed down with age. In my younger years I was… energetic. Oafish at times, hard around the edges; loyal, and simple in my own way.

I have worked hard to civilise myself and, mostly, I do not regret it. Still, the old instincts visit. I get irritated when people dawdle in traffic. Line-cutters bother me. Unnecessary unkindness, poor manners; makes me scowl and clench my fists.

One afternoon, all of that was simmering as I left a shopping centre. One of those places I would spend great effort to avoid. I had had my fill: the queue-jumping, the barking over groceries, the cars straddling two bays. By the time I reached the parking kiosk, I was not at my best.

I joined the line, rehearsing a few choice complaints in my head, and then I saw it. Etched on that sun-faded screen between the tariffs and hourly rates:

“Change is possible.”

I laughed. A partly rusted, weather-beaten machine, bereft of will or wisdom; was calmly telling me the truth I needed in that moment. Change is possible. Insert coin. Receive some back. Or, if you prefer, deposit your irritation, and collect your composure.

So, I paid. I thanked the machine (yes, out loud). I tightened my grip on my own mind and walked out as if the day mattered. Because it did. They all do.

If a mindless parking machine knows change is possible, what excuse do I have? What excuse do any of us have?

We do not control lines, traffic, or other people’s manners. We do control the story we tell ourselves while we wait. In the small spaces: queues, meetings, hold music; character either leaks or is strengthened. That day, mine was brought back to heel by a metal box that dispenses coins and, apparently, wisdom.

The lesson I kept: Change is not dramatic. It is a decision; repeated, then remembered. Insert attention. Receive agency.

Today, I am trying to be the kind of person who pays for parking and leaves with more change than I arrived with.

TL; DR: Even on an ordinary Tuesday, change is possible. Start with your attitude. The rest follows.

Question for you (Dear Reader): Where do you most often “pay” with your patience, and what change do you take home? Was it worth the trade?

Imperare sibi maximum imperium est.

— Dr Stephen D. Jones

#Leadership #Stoicism #SelfMastery #PersonalGrowth #Agency