The on the road Jiu-Jitsu philosophy

Flight delays drive people mad.

This is very understandable. After all, flying nowadays is a hassle. You need to get there in advance and pass through long security lines. Usually airports are far from your final destination. Plus, you make plans based in a certain schedule, and a delay many times screws it. Not counting the connections, sometimes you miss it because your previous flight got late. And besides all of that, it’s boring to be seated for hours.

A sole Giants supporter at the San Francisco Aiport; he seemed more upset with the delay than happy with his team victory

I travel quite enough and therefore I get strained a lot as well. However, Jiu-Jitsu philosophy (perhaps Master Carlos Gracie’s philosophy) taught me to be positive, and take the best of every situation, no matter how bad it is. That why I come out with some tricks to not let my mood fall while I’m on the road.

Last Sunday I went to attend to a Jiu-Jitsu tournament in Santa Cruz, and my first flight was scheduled to depart very early in the morning from Santa Ana to San Francisco, where I would rent a car to drive South.

We were in the lane, waiting our place in the line to depart, when suddenly the pilot stopped the engine, and broke the news out: the plane was broken. We went back to the terminal and a long line was built around the gate.

I seated, open my notebook, and started to work, as I was in my home office. Called Claudio Franca (the one who was organizing the tournament, and told him that probably I wouldn’t be able to get there).

Most people went to United counter in the Check-in area, and tried to rebook the flight. The thing is, the San Francisco 49ers were hosting the NY Giants for the NFC game, and every flight to SanFra was full. So there was nothing to do.

A 5-hour delay and one keynote presentation later, I landed in San Francisco.

I kept working, and waited for the mechanics.

It was a long delay, but, by the time we left (12 instead of 7h45) I had finished a keynote presentation I was working on.

Then, in the air, approaching to San Francisco airport, the pilot told us that there was a high traffic and thus we would need to circle around for over 4o minutes before we land. Well, I thought to myself, I had half an hour more to read this book in my Kindle.

When I got in Santa Cruz, 3h30 in the afternoon, the competition had less than two hours left. França was surprised to see me: “I thought you wouldn’t come anymore,” he said. “Well, I come at least to give you a hug, and then get back home,” I joked.

Not really. I watched some good matches, got to know some young talents, chatted with some smart people, and had a two legs of one hour driving to finish an audiobook.

The most difficult part was to eat properly. Airports are not best place to buy health food and my two bars finished in the first part of the journey. So I decided to fast a little longer and my first decent meal was 7pm, in a stop midway towards San Francisco, at the Los Gatos Whole Foods market. The long waiting made my plate a little more tasty, as hunger is the best condiment a food can have.

My "break" fast, around 7pm. The only part that sucks is plastic knives and forks, a commonplace when traveling.

The mood in the airport was down, as the local 49ers lost by three in the overtime. But that’s okay, even this ephemeral upsets are interesting, I like to observe how different people handle defeats.

And the fact the flight back got delayed as well didn’t surprise me. But, at midnight, I was in bed here in Dana Point, and I slept with the best sensation of all. I endured this long day, didn’t quit and they couldn’t bend my mood.

My traveling tips:

1. Don’t build expectations–just dance with the flow. If travel goes smoothly, fine. If not, you don’t get disappointed.
2. Always carry e-books (they’re lighter), audiobooks, songs, notebook and internet–In other words, I try to build the same environment I would have if I spend the day in my office.
3. Try not to mobilize people to take you/pick you up at the airport–The best money you can spend is with parking or taxi, otherwise your inconvenience could mean your friends or family inconvenience.
4. Bring your own food–This time I only took two bars, but usually I also take dry fruits, to throw at my salad. The most difficult part in traveling is to eat well.
5. Observe–people are interesting, and airports have lots of people. You always will see something odd. For instance, this time I was happy to see one TSA official cracking jokes and being friendly with travelers. That’s not usually the case, and it proves no matter what job you have, you can be nice.

And mainly: do your best (really!) to not get grumpy. The whole environment will try it over and over. If you beat it, life will be much easier outside the airports.