Why are we always racing in our lives?

Picture this.

If you've ever traveled in an Indian airplane, you would have seen this already. The plane arrives at your destination, and as soon as you're given clearance to rise from your seats, that's exactly what you do! Or to be more precise, what everyone does at the exact same time. Why is this weird? Because in the grand scheme of things, it makes absolutely no sense at all.

You are not gaining anything by rising along with all the others. The airplane would only have one or two exits and people usually go out in a single file. So you just stand there in the aisle holding your luggage waiting for the people to move; you probably would even curse them for being such insufferable tortoises. The smart ones on the other hand would just stay in their seats, smirking at the fact even if you were to go out first, you would still be hauled in a bus to take you to the main terminal. Or that you would still have to wait at the baggage claim with everybody else. Your baggage will not pop out first just because you've exited the plane first! Ergo, unless you've got an escaped convict on the run or are reuniting with a long lost lover/family member -  irrespective of what your instincts might tell you to do, it's best to wait till the people closer to the exit have left first.

In fact, this predilection to be ever on the run has been so ingrained in our consciousness that it's unwittingly become part of our DNA now. You see this every where - buses, trains, movie theatres (we have got to walk out of the theater as soon as you see the credits rolling), and of course while driving on the road, which for Indians is a perpetual race. It's almost as if there's someone waiting with a waving flag at an imaginary finish line to crown you the Grand Prix champion! 

I guess the sole reason for this behavior is that we're brainwashed from the beginning to be ahead of everyone. This gets ingrained, in subtle ways, little by little - and by the end, eclipses our thought process so much that we race even without knowing what exactly we're racing for! So just lay back, relax, and know that it pays to hold your horses once in a while!