Hippo Rage - a humorous look at stress and anger today
(text of a ... speech by David ... The Happy ... brought down the house in ... Quebec, April 21, 2002)Has anybody here ever been stuck in traffic for a ... long t (text of a mini-keynote speech by David Leonhardt, The Happy Guy,which brought down the house in Gatineau, Quebec, April 21, 2002)Has anybody here ever been stuck in traffic for a frustratingly long time? Put up your hand if you have.Oooh! Dont you just hate that? And some people dont mind showing us how much they hate it. We call it road rage.Has anybody ever waited in a ticket lineup or a checkout lineup for a frustratingly long time? Let me see those hands.Believe it or not, some people dont like that either. We call it lineup rage.Has anybody ever been stuck waiting in a doctors office for a frustratingly long time? Let me see those hands.And then you see somebody suddenly jump up and tear his hair out and scream, Let me out. Ive been here three hours. Three days. Three months! Well, I really should appologize. I didnt mean to scare your kids. I was just demonstrating waiting room rage. Let me tell you a story about the Lwungwa River Valley thats in Africa, you know. The dry season there gets very dry. My throat is getting dry just thinking about it. The Lwangwa River stops rushing. It slows to a trickle. Finally, it stops flowing. And all that are left are pools of water, here and there.One by one, the animals head to higher ground. To forest cover. To other water holes. Anywhere they can find food or drink. Just like we will all do late. Did I say all the animals? Not all. Not the hippos.The hippos stay in their river at it slows to a stream. They stay in the stream as it turns into pools. They stay in the pools as they shrink into puddles. As the puddles shrink, the hippos get more crowded. As the hippos get more crowded, they get surly. Cranky. Grumpy. They gnash their teeth. They poke at each other. They pick fights. Its river rage! Has anyone ever come face to face with a raging hippopotamus? Dont be shy. Go ahead, put up your hands. Sure, when were young Im sure you all remember this as I do were taught that theyre slow, cute, and cuddly. They might even be pink or purple and do those dances in tutus like in Fabntasia. But in the real world they have teeth the size of your head. They can run faster than anyone in this room. And they weight upwards of 5,000 pounds. I mean, they are BIG! If youre ever at a cocktail party and a hippopotamus starts, you know, flirting with you, whatever you do, do not let him sit on your lap.Rage is all the rage these days. Road rage. Lineup rage. Waiting-room rage. Even river rage. You may also have heard of parking lot rage, elevator rage and airplane rage. What gives? Is the world getting angrier or just more crowded?Both. Its a fact that as our space and time grow increasingly crowded, our stress levels rise. When it comes to space, we are cramming more people into more crowded cities, elevators, airplanes, stores. Our patience diminishes. Our good will diminishes. Our tolerance diminishes. Has anyone noticed they place the chairs at conferences you noticed! -- so close together that even skinny people get to know each other well. My theory is that the hotels are trying to develop their own niche rage market: conference seating rage.Lets look at our schedules. What are we trying to do? Were trying to see how many items we can squeeze onto our to do list, and how many activities we can cram into a day. And the stress, where does it go? Right up there, exactly.I want to share this one little thought with you. We are in the process of moving, so we actually have two homes. Stress that builds in my stacked concrete box apartment they call a condo, I cant get rid of. It sticks. I cant shake it off. It wont go. It sticks. When Im at my farm house just a few miles south of here, surrounded by grass and trees, its amazing how quickly I can just excommunicate the stress. Can I say that? Excommunicate? Why not?OK. What have we learned today? Three lessons, so please take note. Number one, dont let your space get too crowded. Number two, dont let your schedule get too crowded.Number three, and this is the most important of all, dont ever, ever let a hippopotamus sit on your lap. Source: Free Articles from ArticlesFactory.com .
Top blog stories
A review of Idmobile.com
Idmobile.com offers both pay-as-you-go and contract plans. Pay-as-you-go plans are ideal for customers who don't want to be tied down to a long-term contract, and they can purchase bundles of data, minutes, and texts as and when they need them.
Idmobile.com offers both pay-as-you-go and contract plans. Pay-as-you-go plans are ideal for customers who don't want to be tied down to a long-term contract, and they can purchase bundles of data, minutes, and texts as and when they need them.
AO.co is a trusted expert in TVs, washing machines, clothes dryers and other household appliances. AO.com is one of the largest retailers in the UK and it specializes in electronics, clothes and home furniture.
At Three, we believe phones are good. They just make life better. Easier. And more fun. But
we all need to find a balance that works for us. Our mission is to help our customers use
their phones to live their best lives.
We make your life easier
Since 1992, we’ve been helping customers get the best deal on their dream phone. We firmly believe in giving you the highest quality, for the lowest price. That’s why we work with three of the UK’s leading networks to do all the haggling for you,...
At Halfords, we're all about the journey. With more than 700 stores with over 10,000 colleagues, we're the UK's leading retailer of automotive and cycling products. We are also the leading operator in MOT, tyres, car servicing and car repairs - pleasing more than 750,000 customers every year.
It's important to us that everyone gets great customer service and can enjoy our products, no matter their level of sight. So, if you're blind, partially sighted or struggle to see or read the screen, we’ve a range of features to help you get the most from our products and...
Look iconic, without the hassle— using Nasty Gal discount codes, you can shop your favorite pieces for way less by simply entering one of our promotional codes (of your choice) at the checkout. From delivery offers, to promo deals, we keep ‘em coming, so you always have the offer you...
The Covid-19 has caused the school and universities to shut down around the world creating a major issue in Learning and Education. As this virus spreads through the interaction and if social distanci... The Covid-19 has caused the school and universities to shut down around the world creating a major...
Why its Important to Manage Your Holiday Calendars?
A printable calendar 2021 is a prominent online platform where you download printable calendars of your choice. These calendars can be customized as per our client requirement with photo, text, logo, or any other image. If you are thinking of planning a dream vacation tour with family and kids but...
Make in India marketing campaign released via Prime Minister Narendra Modi in September 2014. It is an initiative to make India’s name on the top business investors list all over the globe. It is a large opportunity for all the traders to create their enterprise in any field anywhere inside...
The Swachh Bharat Mission Program is an initiative of the national government and is coordinated with the aid of the MDWS. However, responsibility for its implementation is with the state and rural local governments. The Swachh Bharat Mission Program is an initiative of the national government and is coordinated with...
The government of India introduces many programs to enhance the lifestyles and living requirements of the Indians. Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojna (PMKVY) is one of the Applications the Government of India The government of India introduces many programs to enhance the lifestyles and living requirements of the Indians. Pradhan...
Digital India is an ambitious challenge for the Government of India to digitally empowered inside the area of the era. This task was launched on 1 July 2015 by means of Shri. Narendra Modi. Digital India is an ambitious challenge for the Government of India to digitally empowered inside the...
DigiLocker gives a committed private storage space, linked to each resident’s Aadhaar number. DigiLocker may be used to soundly save e-files as well as keep Uniform Resource Identifier (URI) hyperlink of e-files issued by using diverse company departments. The e-Sign facility provided as a part of the DigiLocker machine can...
Liberals Latest Politics news are checking out regulations in which drive tech giants like Facebook and Google to share promotion dollars with community media to Restrict the spread of coronavirus. ‘It was so thick’: B.C. girl’s huge spider Image horrifies, but professionals say to not fear 4075 Read One of...
The interim price range has introduced much good news for the loads and for folkss who belong to the weaker sections of the society along with folks that really want welfare schemes. One such welfare scheme commenced through the contemporary government is Atal Pension Yojana. Atal Pension Yojana is top-notch...
In current scenario ,US -China relations have become worse than even before.This article is analysis of trade sanctions between US -China,Covid -19 effect on US and upcoming presidential election in US. The Trump administration and the Chinese government are going head to head over the Coronavirus. Xi Jinping and Donald...
Hunter S. Thompson made a life's work from pursuing the American dream. Read on as we explore a handful of his greatest adventures. From politics to literature, to getting lost in the wilds of Las Vegas, nobody has used their allotted time on the planet quite like Hunter S. Thompson. ...
The Standard of living is the level of material goods, wealth, necessities, and comfort available to a particular socioeconomic group, mostly a nation. It includes factors like poverty rate, income, employment availability, and quality, Gross Domestic Product, political and economic stability, national economic growth, house affordability and quality, the expectancy...
Search topic
Standard of Living Essay
The Standard of living is the level of material goods, wealth, necessities, and comfort available to a particular socioeconomic group, mostly a nation. It includes factors like poverty rate, income, employment availability, and quality, Gross Domestic Product, political and economic stability, national economic growth, house affordability and quality, the expectancy...