We can’t always control what happens to us, but we get to choose how we respond.

Last night I was flying home from a show and my flight was MASSIVELY delayed (and eventually cancelled). It was frustrating. I had been on the road 12 days out of the last 15, I missed my wife, and I desperately wanted to sleep in my own bed.

I could have vented my anger at a gate-agent who has no more control over the situation than I did. I could have wandered to a bar to drown my sorrows… But instead, I decided to stage an impromptu show for my fellow stranded passengers.

Groans and cursing every time the estimated time of departure slipped later into the night turned into laughter. We all bonded, we all made new friends. We all made the best of a bad situation.

When the flight was ultimately cancelled, passengers waited in line over an hour to get rebooked and receive hotel vouchers. When it was finally their turn, they arrived at the counter cheerful and friendly. Everyone’s night was just a little bit better because of a decision.

The most consequential moments in my life stemmed from tiny decisions and tiny actions. Choosing to grab a slice of pizza from the fridge on my way out the door to school one day saved me from being hit by a car. Stuffing one more book into a paper bag on the last day of the library discard sale in the 1980s launched my career in magic and IT. Small things people have done for me have had profound impacts on my life, and small things you do for others will do the same for them. Small kindnesses sometime change lives.

The inverse is true, too. When we vent, when we lose our temper, when we lose patience. You never know when a small decision will change someone’s life (and, depending on the decision, it could be for the better or worse). When I look back on my life, I am ashamed to say I have not always chosen kindness. I have not always chosen empathy. I regret those decisions to this day, and I know I can’t change them. All I can do is choose better the next time.jek

Choose kindness, choose empathy - you’ll never know what impact your choices have. As David Foster-Wallace once said, we have to keep reminding ourselves “this is water… this is water…”