Whilst visiting one of my favourite forums today, I was struck by the question: if you got stuck in a lift (elevator), who would you like to be in there with you? It started me thinking. Looking down the forum thread, I discovered somebody had suggested Angelina Jolie.
Well, Angelina is not a bad choice I thought though, I must confess, the first thing that crossed my mind was that I would rather like to be stuck in there with Renee Zellweger. But after just a little thinking, I realised that it is probably Bridget Jones that I found so attractive and not Renee at all, and of course, as Bridget is not a real person, I needed to do a quick rethink.
Anthony Robbins was another popular suggestion. Now there is a man that I definitely would not wish to be with me in the lift. I know Tony has his fans (yes, there are quite a lot of them too) but I am sure he would drive me nuts if we were in there for any length of time. Trying to look on the positive side, perhaps he might be motivated to climb through the ceiling panel, scale the cable and climb out on the floor above. If so, I’m prepared to make an exception; otherwise, Tony, go find another lift.
So, who would I like to get stuck in the lift with me? Well, first off, it would definitely need to be someone optimistic. It would be a terrible waste of energy having to try to console someone who naturally thought we were doomed. In that case, there could be very little benefit to be derived from the experience unless that person did also happen to be Angelina Jolie of course.
Secondly, the person would need to be someone I could enjoy chatting with. There would be absolutely no point being stuck in a lift with someone for a period of several hours if they had nothing at all interesting to say (ok, yes, perhaps I might be prepared to make an exception for Angelina).
Thirdly, it would need to be someone I admired in some way (not necessarily in exactly the same way I admire Angelina Jolie). It might be an opportunity to meet one of my heroes, for example. So here is my shortlist of people with whom I would probably enjoy getting stuck in the lift:
- Nelson Mandela
- Tony Benn
- Bobby Charlton
- Lee Mack
- Victoria Wood
And here’s a list of people I would definitely avoid when taking the lift:
- Woody Allen
- Tony Robbins
- Russell Brand
- George Bush
- Joan Rivers
And, if Renee or Angelina were running for the lift, I would probably hold the doors.
In all seriousness, the exercise is quite a good one and it is something you might like to think about doing yourself. Firstly, it is a bit of fun but, secondly, it is a great way of coming up with a list of people you genuinely admire.
I remember someone once pointing out that the qualities we most admire in others are usually also to be found within ourselves. So after you have made your own list, try to say why you admire each of those people. It can be a great way of learning a little more about that latent, untapped talent that resides deep within you.
So, why not give this a try: with whom would you like to get stuck in the lift?
