Two stories a day apart taught me an important lesson about picking my battles.
Story 1: At Mumbai Airport’s boarding gate, Abhishek and I discovered our carry-on bags were overweight for our SpiceJet flight to Bhavnagar. The limit was 7 kgs; we had considerably more. The agent demanded Rs 6,800 for excess baggage. I tried arguing, but was told that the rules were clearly stated on our tickets. With no time to return to check-in and Spicejet being the only carrier on this route, we had two choices: pay or miss our flight. We paid.
Story 2: Just a day earlier, I was picking up Abhishek at the international terminal at Mumbai airport. Since I was running late and he was travelling light, I asked him to meet me at the Departures level to avoid parking. As he got in the car, an airport agent appeared: “Rs 270 fine. No pickups allowed here.” He pointed to some distant signboard with the rules. Again, I tried to argue. Again, I had to pay.
Both incidents left a bitter taste. Yes, the airline and airport were technically within their rights. Yes, they held monopolistic positions, with Spicejet being the only airline on the Mumbai-Bhavnagar route. But something felt fundamentally unfair about these interactions.
Then it hit me: I was expending emotional energy on battles I could never win. In the Spicejet case, I could have escalated to a supervisor but risked missing our flight. At the airport, I could have argued longer but would still have ended up paying. The staff weren’t there to create delightful customer experiences – they were simply enforcing rules, doing their jobs.
This realisation was reinforced days later at another airport’s boarding gate. I watched passengers berate Air India staff over a 20-minute delay, despite advance notification. Their angry outbursts changed nothing except their own blood pressure.
A few years ago, I might have been one of those angry passengers. But over time, I’ve learned to be more stoic. Life presents many situations where we lack control and have zero chance of winning an argument. In such moments, the real victory lies not in fighting a losing battle, but in choosing peace of mind instead.
The core lesson? Save your energy for fights you can win. When faced with an immovable force – whether it’s airline rules, bureaucratic procedures, or simply circumstances beyond your control – acceptance isn’t defeat. It’s wisdom.
