Do you have big travel plans this year? You’re not alone. But before you hop on the plane, pay attention to the games you’re entering so you can decide whether you’re okay being played, or want to step out of the game entirely. 

The Diversion Game

If you’ve spent way too much time calculating points, and exploring flight or airbnb options, you’re already enmeshed in the Diversion Game. Here’s how it played out for me last year.

I had three piles of priorities to be completed before I left town. One pile held all the work deadlines. Another stack had all my personal priorities, such as making sure the plants got watered. The last stack held my ballot for an upcoming election. Guess which priority went to the bottom of the list? 

The “Me vs. The Environment” Game

The environmental impact of flying is high. In fact, it is one of the fastest-growing sources of greenhouse gasses, according to the International Council on Clean Transportation. 

So the next time you choose to upgrade to first class, or elect business class on an international flight with a sleeper, keep in mind that you are contributing not less but more to environmental stress.

The “Walk of Shame” Game

Studies have shown that air rage is four times higher in planes that have a first class section coach passengers have to walk through to get to their seats, noted psychologist Keith Payne in The Broken Ladder: How Inequality Affects the Way We Think, Live and Die. That rage is a result of shame about one’s status in the cultural hierarchy.

The way to win this game is to see the shame for what it is—a story created by the same marketing folks who brought you frequent flyer points. The goal of their game is to get you to consume more. The way you win, however, is to see the holes in their story, claim a new one (see the “Me vs. The Environment” game above), and keep walking.

M. Carolyn Miller, MA, designs narrative- and game-based learning. She also writes and speaks about the power of story in our lives and world. www.cultureshape.com