An escalator can never break. It can only become stairs. You would never see an "Escalator Temporarily Out Of Order" sign, just "Escalator Temporarily Stairs. Sorry for the convenience." - Mitch Hedberg

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I was standing on an escalator going down this afternoon.  And I realized that I was a bit annoyed that it was taking so long.  At that point, the little voice in my head said, “David, you're being dumb, just start walking.”  I had fallen into a mental trap – I had forgotten that I could still actually walk on the escalator.

This got me to thinking.  I realized that escalators have two main functions.  They can either make life easier (you expend less energy if you just stand on the escalator and let it carry you) or faster (you ride the escalator and you walk at the same time). 

As I walked out of the store I thought about which is better – and I realized that neither one was.  The beauty of the escalator is that it gives you the option of either make life faster or easier.  You get to choose how you use the “tool” of modern life that is the escalator.  Most places even allow you to forgo the escalator and still take the stairs.

These options are great.  The warning here is to not fall into the mental trap that I did.  I got stuck in only one mode of thinking.   I didn’t consider my full range of ambulatory options when I stepped onto the escalator.  Obviously, I’m not talking about just rising up and down escalators here.  We use so many mental shortcuts to get through the day, it’s easy to get stuck in ruts.  Although it takes a little more energy and focus, making deliberate decisions can help you align your actions with what you really want. 

In a way, that’s what I did when I started walking down the escalator.   I wanted to get down faster on this particular instance, not easier.  The next time I’m riding down the escalator in the Barnes and Noble, I’ll be able to make a new decision, and either continue to walk down the escalator, or maybe I’ll let it carry me and use the time to think of my next blog post.

I hope that it doesn’t break down when I’m on it.  Then I’ll have to come up with a whole new decision.  Do I walk down it, do I wait until someone rescues me, do I …..