We don’t rush until we get to the checkout!

When was the last time that you ran as you pushed your trolley through the supermarket?

As a rule, do you go round the supermarket as fast as you can - never browsing, never pausing to consider a product, only looking for the items you have already decided that you need?

Of course not. We like to wander along the aisles - feasting our eyes on all the goods available. Sometimes we have a list - and sometimes we don’t. We know the basics of what we’ll buy - the things we buy each week. But after that, well it’s an art rather than a science. Some meat, some veg, some fruit, some stuff for the freezer and the microwave - and hopefully it’ll translate into sufficient meals for the week.

We might meet someone we know and pause for a chat. We might come across an item and feel tempted by it, but stand for a moment - item in hand - considering whether we will or we won’t, before either adding it to our basket or returning it to the shelf.

And so it goes on - at a fairly leisurely pace…

Until we reach the checkout.

And then it all changes. Which is the shortest queue? Who is the fastest operator? How can I get out of here as quickly as possible?

We don’t run round the supermarket - but we’re always in an almighty rush when we get to the checkout!

But why is this so? What makes us feel like this? Does it matter?