You already know that panicky, sinking feeling within the pit of your abdomen whenever you understand you are in serious trouble otherwise you made a mistake? You are so SOL that you do not know what to do.
It is Sam’s spouse Sydney right here, and I just lately discovered myself in a bind.
Proper after I booked flights to Japan, I spotted my passport was lacking. No passport, no journey, $3,600 in non-refundable airfare gone! I have never felt this a lot despair and stress in years, which I am going to get into beneath.
Within the midst of my grief and nervousness, nonetheless, Sam taught me an exceptional thoughts shift train utilized by Navy Seals often called Full Profit.
What Does The Navy Seals Saying “Full Profit” Imply?
Once I first heard the expression “full profit” I used to be somewhat perplexed. Nevertheless it’s actually fairly easy. This saying comes from the thought course of that each problem we face is an opportunity to get higher, to develop as an individual.
Not solely that, the more durable a problem is, the extra worth it holds.
Once we face adversity, it makes us higher IF we settle for it. Exhausting challenges and disappointments might make us really feel fully overwhelmed, however they offer us the “full profit.”
Suppose again to probably the most troublesome or irritating instances in your life which might be seared into your thoughts endlessly. Now take into consideration how a lot you discovered from them. Not solely that, you might be stronger right this moment since you have been in a position to overcome these adversities.
Examples Of Issues And Full Advantages
- 20-page time period paper vanishing in an influence outage? Benefit from the full good thing about re-writing a greater paper and getting a greater grade.
- Getting rejected from all 10 faculties you utilized to? Benefit from the full good thing about saving cash by going to neighborhood faculty for 2 years after which transferring.
- Getting rejected from six preschools you utilized to? Benefit from the full profit by homeschooling your baby for one yr, constructing a stronger relationship, and saving cash.
- New fridge you have waited 6 months for does not match via your door? Benefit from the full good thing about discovering a less expensive, longer-lasting mannequin and turning into a wiser house remodeler.
- Snapping your ankle the one time you neglect to put on your ankle brace? Benefit from the full good thing about forcing you to relaxation your shoulder for a month since you’ll be able to now not transfer.
Shifting focus away from the stress at hand and onto the complete profit as a substitute is a good way to shift your mindset. And on the subject of constructing wealth, having a robust cash mindset is paramount!
My Latest Debacle Turned Full Profit
For these of you with growing old mother and father, all too properly how troublesome it may be to juggle your individual life and theirs. I am experiencing this now to a point with my mother.
Anyway, one in all my many current duties for her has been arranging a visit to Japan. Her sister handed and there are lots of unsettled duties she has to take care of. My mom initially had plans to go alone, however that is not possible anymore as a consequence of some unexpected well being points.
Thus, I needed to reschedule her solo journey in Might to a time when each my sister and I can accompany her. My sister will take our mother there for the primary half of the journey, I am going to do the latter half, and we’ll overlap briefly within the center.
After numerous forwards and backwards, we lastly obtained dates and flights sorted out. However proper after I booked my non-refundable flights, I went to go seize my passport and realized it was no the place to be discovered. What?!
The place The Hell Is My Passport?!
Hadn’t I simply I efficiently renewed it in 4Q2022? My reminiscence high quality is fairly frayed across the edges as a consequence of poor sleep as a consequence of our daughter. So once I could not discover my passport it the place it ought to have been, I began to panic. I used to be so caught off guard that my reminiscence went fully clean.
Did I even obtain it after submitting my renewing within the first place? If I obtained it, did I hold it within the envelope? Or did I take it out and conceal it? If that’s the case, which place did I put it? And wth is not it there?!
Over the following a number of hours, I began to recollect a couple of issues. I remembered getting it within the mail and displaying it to Sam. “Hey verify this out. That is what the most recent passports seem like.” However what I did after that also stays a blur.
After frantically looking out the home prime to backside for 3 days, I lastly accepted it was gone for good. I concluded that I both put it again within the precedence mail envelope it got here in and one way or the other it was inadvertently discarded.
Or I did tuck it away, however one of many 6-7 restore employees who got here via our home throughout the winter poked round and took it once I wasn’t wanting.
Regardless of the case could also be, it was gone and I could not get it again.
Now What?
I used to be so distraught and felt just like the village fool for being so careless. However, I could not afford to remain caught in pity metropolis. With costly non-refundable flights to Japan already booked for all three of us, I wanted to behave quick.
First, I checked out a calendar to see what number of weeks I had in play. Twelve on the absolute most. Hmm, not too dangerous I believed, however nonetheless dicey. Passport processing time for routine service is round 10-13 weeks proper now. And expedited service isn’t considerably quicker at 7-9 weeks. However a pair weeks may make an enormous distinction for me!
Then I discovered that as a result of my passport was misplaced/stolen, I must re-apply in particular person similar to somebody making use of for the very first time. I began looking out all of the SF publish workplace areas for an appointment. However each location was absolutely booked for the following 4+ weeks! My pulse jumped.
Oh man, I believed. I actually may very well be screwed. Thankfully, my sister gave me a tip that some publish workplaces take walk-in appointments. There wasn’t any information posted on-line about present walk-in areas, so I began dialing each publish workplace within the metropolis.
Ring, ring, ring, ring, ring, ring, ring, ring, ring…oh no, does anybody on the publish workplace ever choose up the telephone?!
Passport Demand Is Up, Postal Employment Is Down
Seems only a few publish workplaces in San Francisco will reply the telephone it doesn’t matter what time of day you name. My guess is they’re both too busy to select up the telephone, or are too unmotivated and disengaged. Fortunately, nonetheless, I lastly did get ahold of 1 particular person on the Noe Valley department.
Though that location doesn’t take walk-ins, she knowledgeable me that the principle department at 1300 Evans Ave does. The problem she stated is the workplace opens at 7:30 am, however folks begin lining up at 5 am. There are a restricted variety of walk-in slots, so displaying up early does not even assure you will get seen.
Then she stated the wait time may very well be a further 5-6 hours after the workplace opens. Lastly, she guided me that Mondays, Fridays, and Saturdays are the busiest. Oh boy.
I felt slightly defeated already, however nonetheless held onto a ray of hope that I may very well be one of many fortunate ones. Operation early chook, ie my Plan A, was hatched.
Plan B, C, and D
Nonetheless feeling unsettled since there was no assure I may get a walk-in appointment, I got here up with a Plan B, C, and D.
I researched passport expeditor service suppliers, however that might price $700. Sheesh! Not solely that, the critiques have been horrific and it did not look like utilizing one would assist me that a lot anyway as a result of I might nonetheless want to seem in particular person. I scrapped that concept.
Subsequent, I pinged our son’s faculty grade mother or father’s community to see if anybody had any ideas from prior expertise. It was price a shot since many fellow mother and father have family members abroad and journey internationally for household and work.
To my delight, I obtained some immediate ideas together with quick service in Mill Valley and Sausalito (a few 30 minute drive north) and utilizing same-day service on the Civic Heart passport workplace with proof of pressing journey.
I instantly regarded for appointments in Mill Valley and Sausalito. I obtained one! Nevertheless it was three weeks out, that means I would be tremendous down the the wire on my departure. At the least my plan B was in place even when it wasn’t nice.
Then I formulated a plan C, which might entail calling the Nationwide Passport Data Heart to attempt to get an appointment for pressing journey inside 14 days of my departure.
And lastly, my plan D can be to name and attempt to get a brilliant pressing appointment if I executed Plan A however was nonetheless caught ready for my new passport inside 5 days of departure.
Plan A: Full Profit
So what ended up occurring? The considered me waking up at 4:30 am to go get in line at 5 am within the chilly was gloomy. I already get little or no sleep as it’s. However the night time earlier than I deliberate to go, I remembered there are folks out there for rent on TaskRabbit to attend in line. Genius!
I shortly submitted a process request and linked with a extremely rated Elite tasker. Though he hadn’t waited for a passport appointment earlier than, he was fast to reply and appeared dependable.
Now I simply wanted to complete all of my paperwork and arrive by 7:15 the following day to take his spot in line earlier than the passport workplace opened at 7:30.
The subsequent morning, I linked with my Tasker. He obtained there early and was the primary one in line. Wanting good! A household of 4 arrived behind him a short while later as I used to be getting my issues prepared to go away.
Sudden Variables
Then out of the blue, my Tasker texted me at 6:50 am saying the workplace opened early and to get there ASAP. What?!
Regardless that the workplace did not formally open till 7:30 am, there was an agent onsite who was able to see walk-ins early because of the excessive demand. I had not accounted for this.
My Tasker needed to let the household go first since I wasn’t on-site but. However since there have been a unit of 4, hopefully I might arrive simply as they have been ending.
After I used to be rushed out the door, I ended to verify my bag one final time. Okay, I had each of my types, a verify to the DOS, my drivers license, photograph copies of my IDs, however WAIT!! The place was my expired passport?! I wanted it to show citizenship. ACK!
I shortly remembered I left it on our printer the night time earlier than once I was making photocopies. I dashed to seize it after which rushed throughout city. OMG I felt like such a multitude.
Fortunately, the household of 4 completed one minute earlier than I ran within the door and I used to be in a position to be seen proper once I arrived. PHEW!
One other surprising variable was the agent did not like the truth that my printed types have been “too small.” Regardless that I printed them to the max scale my printer may deal with with out chopping off the sides, she did not need to course of them that manner.
Dashing Leads To Careless Errors
So, I needed to re-write all of the fields of my DS-11 software on one of many clean DS-11 types they’d onsite. Fortunately, she did not ship me to the again of the road. She was in a position to get different issues prepared whereas I rewrote the whole lot.
There have been additionally a couple of packing containers I forgot to checkmark once I redid the shape, which she fortuitously caught and corrected.
I additionally wasn’t in a position to verify with my father what his birthplace was earlier than I submitted the shape. This was a silly mistake I may have averted if I regarded via the shape extra totally a number of days earlier than. Once I noticed the parental info fields initially, I believed that was only for minor candidates. I used to be unsuitable!
I took my greatest guess, however once I talked to my dad later within the day he instructed me I used to be unsuitable. Ugh. At the least I enter the neighboring metropolis, so I used to be fairly shut. Hopefully my software will not get stalled due to that.
Takeaways: From Despair To Full Profit
Lesson discovered? All the time lock up your valuables immediately. And inform your partner, siblings, or trusted good friend the place you locked them up in case you neglect! I used to be proud sufficient to indicate Sam my new passport when it got here, however dumb sufficient to not put it in a brilliant safe place instantly afterward.
At the least I obtained the complete good thing about this snafu! Now I simply have to take a seat again, wait, and hope for the very best on the tail finish. After I verify my precedence mail categorical envelope made it to the processing heart, I can use the passport software standing checker in about three weeks.
If it hasn’t arrived in eight weeks, I am going to want to leap on the telephone to see what is going on on. No matter else occurs, hopefully in twelve weeks I will be on my flight to Japan with my passport. And sure, I’ll double verify my new passport is in my bag earlier than I get within the automobile!
Full Profit Comes With Constructive Outcomes
Along with studying rather a lot out of this expertise, there have been another positives as properly. Due to my three-day hunt for my passport, I concurrently benefited from:
- Decluttering the home
- Organizing closets, cupboards, and drawers
- Filling up two luggage of toys and garments to donate or promote
- Discovering a number of random issues I would misplaced earlier
- Studying extra about passport functions and processing
- Getting to put in writing this publish to share about my loopy expertise
Plus, I did not find yourself having to attend 5-6 hours on the publish workplace. I truly had zero wait time due to my Tasker. And I additionally used this time to assist my mom renew her passport as properly. That was fairly a painful course of in and of itself for a lot of causes, however now it is performed too.
How A lot Did I Finish Up Spending Due To A Misplaced Passport?
This is how a lot this wild misadventure price:
- Report passport stolen $0
- New passport photograph $18.46
- New passport guide $130
- In-person execution price $35
- Precedence Mail Categorical from SF to DoS $28.75
- Expedited processing by the DoS $60
- 1-2 Day supply from DoS to SF $19.53
- Tasker charges for two.5 hours, and tip $134
- Rideshare transportation, charges, and tip $48.88
Complete = $474.62
Ouch, my carelessness in shedding my passport (or not locking it up when folks got here into the home) price me virtually 5 hundred {dollars} and hours of stress and nervousness. Sure, I actually may have saved cash by ready in line myself from 5 am, borrowing a automobile, and never paying for the assorted expedited charges.
However, paying further allowed me to get some a lot wanted further sleep, did not affect Sam’s morning work schedule, did not hinder our children getting to high school on time (we solely have one automobile), and gave me extra peace of thoughts that I ought to have my new passport a number of weeks earlier than my journey.
Full Profit Pays Off
I am completely happy to report that two months after I wrote this publish, my new passport arrived within the mail. Phew! So the estimated expedited processing time of 7-9 weeks did maintain true.
The very first thing I did was inform Sam precisely the place I put it! After all I nonetheless have to recollect to deliver it with me to the airport on my day of departure and never lose it throughout my journey. However, I do plan to be further cautious.
Enjoyable Information About Passports
And to shut, listed here are some fascinating tid bits about passports that you could be not have recognized.
- The demand for US passports exploded in 2022 with a report 22 million processed up from 15.5 million in 2021. Demand in 2023 is on tempo to interrupt final yr’s report.
- Greater than 40 million journey paperwork and passports have been misplaced or stolen since 2002.
- Purple is the commonest passport cowl shade worldwide. Within the US they’re blue.
- Australia is the costliest nation to get a passport, about 3x the fee within the US.
Reader Questions And Suggestions
Readers, have you ever ever misplaced your passport or had it stolen? Did you expertise the complete profit in your journey to exchange it? What are some challenges you have overcome in your life whenever you skilled the complete good thing about going through and overcoming adversity?
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