Okay – so my wife Anne and I are in line at National Car Rental in the world famous car rental pavilion located somewhere in the same county as DFW – Dallas Fort Worth Airport. It’s true that everything is bigger in Texas – as a matter of fact this car rental building is larger than many airports I have seen. It is an arc shaped structure with maybe eight or so car rental companies spaced evenly around the perimeter.

We were in line at National Car Rental (I felt that it would be kind of weird using Alamo in Texas, even though I am a member of their extremely prestigious “Quicksilver” club) and this line was moving so slowly that there should have been a sign in front of us saying “At this point, you are ninety minutes from actually touching a steering wheel.” I’m not sure exactly what they were doing if and when a customer actually made it to the counter, but it sure seemed to take a long time, and with one goon working and about twenty impatient travelers in front of us, things were not looking good. Everyone was resigned to their fate of missing dinner, and the grumbling in the crowd was growing.

Looking to my left I spotted what could only be described as an oasis in a desert of futility – an Avis Car Rental counter staffed with three smiling faces that actually looked human - and absolutely no line. Recalling the old ad slogan, I walked up to the counter and said, “So – does Avis really try harder?”

Even though she had probably heard that line a million times, the young woman smiled appreciatively and said “We sure do! What can I do for you?”

“Well, I’m over there stuck in that National line with a million other schmucks, and if you can beat their price and put me in a car within five minutes, I’ll rent from you and cancel with them.”

So she taps a few buttons on her keyboard and with another big smile says,

“Well, I can beat their price, and just for coming over and giving Avis a try, I’ll upgrade your rental car to the next level!”

Wow – I was really impressed. I gave her my driver’s license and credit card, and strutted over to the National line to help Anne move the luggage. Of course, she had already bonded with ten people in line by then, so I was happy to share my joy.

“Hey guys – if you go over to Avis, they’ll beat National’s price and have you in a car within a few minutes.”

They seemed to be quite taken by my skill – but I assured them that there was nothing to it – just go over to Avis and say the word. Since the National line had actually moved backwards at this point and there was no one at Avis, they pretty much all agreed that it seemed like the thing to do.

I walked over to the Avis counter with all of their eyes fixed on my back, and when I got there the key was already at the counter waiting. Just for effect, I waved it high for the excited crowd to see, and they flashed me the thumbs up and all other sorts of approving gestures. But the strange thing was, not one of them made the big move. For some reason, they all felt compelled to stay in that immobile line.

So we went and picked up our car, and on the way out, I just couldn’t resist driving by and poking my head in to see if the situation had changed. Sure enough, the Avis counter was empty (with some very friendly looking staffers just waiting for customers) and everyone was stuck in the line at National, which hadn’t moved an inch.

For some reason this situation was really bothering me, so as we drove off into the Texas sunset, Anne and I speculated on the reasons why no one had decided to make this move. Here are a few possible explanations:

1) They had some kind of special mileage or rebate program with National, or for some other reason felt a loyalty to that company.

Well – Avis took our frequent flyer number with no problem, and even if there was some kind of bonus they were getting from National – at what cost would it come? Was it really worth waiting another 45 minutes?

2) They were afraid to lose their place in line.

No – most of them were families or couples, so saving a spot was no problem, as we had already demonstrated. Besides, by that time we were all like old army buddies, and surely would have held spots for one another.

3) They didn’t feel right about switching since they already had a reservation with National, and were afraid that they might be charged a deposit.

Screw that! When a company treats you like that – who cares? Besides, while Anne was in the National line, with all of them listening, she called the toll free number and cancelled our reservation with absolutely no hassle.

Well, there could have been a few other reasons, but my guess was that most people were using this logic-

4) “Hey – I already have twenty-five minutes invested in this, and I’m just gonna stick it out.”

For some reason, we tend to have this constipated thinking method – that if any time, money, energy, or anything else has been invested into something, quitting at any point means you are a loser, a failure, or just unwise. We hear (and do!) this all the time, don’t we? Sometimes, we get way too much history that can not be changed involved into our decision making processes. Let’s take a very simple and trivial example. Say you spent the last hour driving to Blockbuster, picking out a video, and bringing it home. You made some popcorn, popped open a beer, and you and your honey are sitting on the couch watching some flick. After fifteen minutes, it becomes obvious that the movie is just plain sucky – a total piece of shit. But how many people just stick it out, merely because they went to the trouble of renting the thing? To me, it doesn’t matter if you spent the last three weeks arranging for this movie. At this point, if you continue to watch – the next ninety minutes of your life will be wasted.

Now I know that in life, many times success comes with perseverance and “stick-to-it-tiveness.” But the opposite is also true. How often do we waste our time, money, energy, love, or creativity because of something in the past that can not be changed? How many people have stayed at unfulfilling jobs because they have already “invested” some years learning the ropes? How many sucky relationships continue because they don’t know what else to do? How many family members are not talking to one another because of something that happened so long ago no one can even remember the details?

Well, these are the big things. But even when it’s just the little things – we all make many decisions every day. Don’t be bogged down by the past. Think to yourself – “From this point on, what is the correct way to approach this problem?” Think a little bit more – and then get out of that damn rental car line!!

I welcome your comments.

Rich