Are you at the back of the line?

A few months ago I went to an event that featured one of my favorite content creators. The event was free and offered publicly so when I arrived 90 minutes early and saw a massive line I wasn’t surprised in the least. I waited on the line and got into the event.

This was a real line with a real wait that led to an actual outcome (getting into the event).

Once I was inside along with 200 other amazing humans we lined up at the various drink stations in the venue to grab a drink.

Line, wait, result. Another actual line.

What happened next… that’s the real story.

I turned around and started heading towards the seating area which was currently closed but did have limited physical seating so I wanted to be as close as possible to have the opportunity to access seating once the barricade was open.

As I walked in that direction I saw people on a line. It looked as though this was the line to the seating area. Looks like I wasn’t the only one thinking about grabbing a seat.

I stood on the line.

I tried to look ahead of the line to find the front to estimate my chances of getting a seat but I couldn’t find the beginning.

Time to investigate .

I asked the person behind me if they could hold my spot for a moment. They agreed.

I stepped out the line and walked to the front of the line.

What I found was more amusing than surprising because this isn’t the first time I’ve seen it.

Once I got to the front I realized there was no line. After the first 10-15 people standing on the line there were just a cluster of people chatting and networking.

The line only existed for those in the back who assumed there was a line.

I started walking back to my place while sharing this news with the others who thought they were on line for the seating.

In moments the line dispersed and some previous line members walked through the crowd to get a closer to the seating entrance.

Moral of this story:

We are often faced with lines (waiting periods, barriers to entry, hierarchies and more) that we think we are waiting in place for our time to come when in reality there is no line. We assume we have to wait or go through a pre determined process in order to get what we are looking for. We don’t ask questions, we don’t explore and we don’t dig deeper.

What lines in your life and you silently standing on?

Some lines are absolutely real, which is why we need to put precautions in place while we explore. Ex: I asked the person behind me to hold my spot. That may look very different from your line. But create a way to hold your place and then go find the facts. Also not in every situation will you be able to come off the line and have your place be held for your return. You have to decide if you’re willing to take that risk for the reward of discovering there is no wait and the result you are looking for can be yours sooner.

So, are you at the back of the line?