Once I was waiting for a bus in Queens. I had work to do, but no way to do it while waiting, and I didn’t know how long I’d have to wait.

People typically feel frustrated or bored in situations like that. I did. But I noticed people on vacation sit around doing nothing too. So I thought to myself “what’s the difference between doing nothing while waiting for a bus and doing nothing on vacation, say lying on the beach or looking at the Grand Canyon?” Either way, I’m not doing any work.

The main difference I came up with was how I felt. On vacation I might feel “I’ve got it made” or the like instead of boredom or frustration.

But I can feel that feeling anyway. I can create it, or another that I’d like. I know from my Model that my feelings come from my environment, beliefs, and behaviors, which, my Method tells me how to control them enough to create the feelings I want.

On vacation my feeling of having it made might come from a sense of financial security by having prepared for the vacation. But I can create that sensation just as well while waiting for the bus. Or at least I know that people less secure than me could make themselves happy and if they could I could.

On vacation, I might be with someone and feel loved or wanted. Again, I can create that feeling waiting for the bus too.

By the way, when I say I can create a feeling, I don’t mean I can fake it. I mean I can create genuine feelings. I can’t create any feeling I want ever, but this case is simple. The environments and behavior of doing nothing waiting for a bus and doing nothing lying on a beach are similar enough that only my beliefs differentiate them and I can change those beliefs.

So I decided to make my wait for the bus a mini-vacation. I decided to see in a nearby tree all the beauty the Grand Canyon could have offered and found it lacking nothing.

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