--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The point is that petty, frustrating crap…" description: "\"The point is that petty, frustrating crap like this is exactly where the work of choosing comes in. Because the traffic jams and crowded aisles and lon..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fd1/david-foster-wallace-161_aisle_the-point-is-that-petty-frustrating-crap_1470728.jpg" --- # The point is that petty, frustrating crap like this is… ![“The point is that petty, frustrating crap like this is exactly where the work of choosing comes in. Because the traffic jams and crowded aisles and long checkout lines give me time to think, and if I don't make a conscious decision about how to think and what to pay attention to, I'm going to be…” quote by David Foster Wallace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fd1/david-foster-wallace-161_aisle_the-point-is-that-petty-frustrating-crap_1470728.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fd1/david-foster-wallace-161_aisle_the-point-is-that-petty-frustrating-crap_1470728.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fd1/david-foster-wallace-161_aisle_the-point-is-that-petty-frustrating-crap_1470728.jpg) > “The point is that petty, frustrating crap like this is exactly where the work of choosing comes in. Because the traffic jams and crowded aisles and long checkout lines give me time to think, and if I don't make a conscious decision about how to think and what to pay attention to, I'm going to be pissed and miserable every time I have to food-shop, because my natural default-setting is the certainty that situations like this are really all about me, about my hungriness and my fatigue and my desire to just get home.” [David Foster Wallace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-foster-wallace/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. When mundane delays occur, we can either let frustration dominate or use the pause to choose our mindset and focus. **In simple terms:** Use waiting time to decide how you think and feel. Key Takeaway Choose your attitude during inevitable delays. Themes mindfulness choice frustration attention self‑control Mood reflective calm intentional Type philosophical motivational When to use this quote - grocery shopping - traffic jams - long lines - airport security - commuting Key Concepts cognitive psychology behavioral choice mindful awareness Questions to Reflect On - How can you turn everyday annoyances into moments of intentional thought? - What habits can you develop to notice when you’re slipping into a default negative mindset? A Different Perspective If you constantly default to negativity, you may miss opportunities for calm and insight. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Attention](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/attention/) [Certainty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/certainty/) [Checkouts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/checkouts/) [Decision](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/decision/) [Desire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/desire/) [Giving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/giving/) [Home](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/home/) [Miserable](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/miserable/) [Setting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/setting/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) [Time to think](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time-to-think/) [Traffic jam](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/traffic-jam/) ## Related quotes > [Or I can choose to force myself to consider the likelihood that everyone else in the supermarket's checkout line is just as bored and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-foster-wallace/or-i-can-choose-to-force-myself-to-consider-the-likelihood-that/) [David Foster Wallace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-foster-wallace/) > [“Gabriel’s going to be pissed.” It took Nick a second to answer. “Why?” “He’ll have to break his leg so people won’t be able…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brigid-kemmerer/gabriel-s-going-to-be-pissed-it-took-nick-a-second-to-answer-why-he/) [Brigid Kemmerer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brigid-kemmerer/) > [My girlfriend is a porn star. 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They howl in protest, and I tell them they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jen-lancaster/i-have-to-pause-the-video-while-i-corral-the-dogs-in-the-other-room/) [Jen Lancaster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jen-lancaster/) > [I'm going to be pissed if I walk all the way to the camp and end up getting shot.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tara-brown/i-m-going-to-be-pissed-if-i-walk-all-the-way-to-the-camp-and-end-up/) [Tara Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tara-brown/) > [“the patriotic or religious bumper stickers always seem to be on the biggest, most disgustingly selfish vehicles driven by the ugliest, most inconsiderate and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-foster-wallace/the-patriotic-or-religious-bumper-stickers-always-seem-to-be-on-the/) [David Foster Wallace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-foster-wallace/) > [Real mothers don't just listen with humble embarrassment to the elderly lady who offers unsolicited advice in the checkout line when a child is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jodi-picoult/real-mothers-don-t-just-listen-with-humble-embarrassment-to-the/) [Jodi Picoult](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jodi-picoult/) > [The woman just ahead of you at the supermarket checkout has all the delectable groceries you didn't even know they carried.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mignon-mclaughlin/the-woman-just-ahead-of-you-at-the-supermarket-checkout-has-all-the/) [Mignon McLaughlin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mignon-mclaughlin/) > [Holocausts do not amaze me. Rapes and child slavery do not amaze me. And Franklin, I know you feel otherwise, but Kevin does not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lionel-shriver/holocausts-do-not-amaze-me-rapes-and-child-slavery-do-not-amaze-me/) [Lionel Shriver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lionel-shriver/) > [Went to the grocery store, got everything on my list and went up to the checkout. I put a bag of pet food for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-engvall/went-to-the-grocery-store-got-everything-on-my-list-and-went-up-to/) [Bill Engvall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-engvall/) > [Waiting rooms were made for books-of course! 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When somebody actually picked up a copy, it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rashida-jones/i-remember-being-a-kid-and-seeing-the-national-inquirer-at-the/) [Rashida Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rashida-jones/) ## More by David Foster Wallace > [“I felt more solidly composed, now that I was horizontal. I was impossible to knock down.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-foster-wallace/i-felt-more-solidly-composed-now-that-i-was-horizontal-i-was/) [David Foster Wallace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-foster-wallace/) > [“We all have our little solipsistic delusions, ghastly intuitions of utter singularity: that we are the only one in the house who ever fills…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-foster-wallace/we-all-have-our-little-solipsistic-delusions-ghastly-intuitions-of/) [David Foster Wallace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-foster-wallace/) > [“It's no accident that in a bureaucracy getting fired is called 'termination,' as in ontological erasure.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-foster-wallace/it-s-no-accident-that-in-a-bureaucracy-getting-fired-is-called/) [David Foster Wallace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-foster-wallace/) > [Footnote: 79) The anchor is gigantic and must weigh a hundred tons, and -- delightfully -- it really is anchor-shaped, i.e. the same shape…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-foster-wallace/footnote-79-the-anchor-is-gigantic-and-must-weigh-a-hundred-tons-and/) [David Foster Wallace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-foster-wallace/) > [“The paradoxical intercourse of audience and celebrity. 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Why we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-foster-wallace/to-me-at-least-in-retrospect-the-really-interesting-question-is-why/) [David Foster Wallace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-foster-wallace/) > [“If you’re subjected to enough great salesmen and salespitches and marketing concepts for long enough—like from your earliest Saturday-morning cartoons, let’s say—it is only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-foster-wallace/if-you-re-subjected-to-enough-great-salesmen-and-salespitches-and/) [David Foster Wallace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-foster-wallace/) > [“Why is the truth usually not just un- but anti-interesting?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-foster-wallace/why-is-the-truth-usually-not-just-un-but-anti-interesting/) [David Foster Wallace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-foster-wallace/) > [“She almost reminds the engineer of certain types in high school whom everyone adored because you sensed it made no difference to them whether…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-foster-wallace/she-almost-reminds-the-engineer-of-certain-types-in-high-school-whom/) [David Foster Wallace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-foster-wallace/) > [To be, in a word, unborable… It is the key to modern life. 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