This Could Mark The End Of My Life; Two Big Lessons I Learned

I cannot get it off my mind. I keep asking; “what if it marked the end of my life?” “What if it happened only 3 minutes earlier?”

A couple of days ago, something happened that made me learn two big lessons.

It was the end of a long day. I was driving home while my mind was busy thinking about all the tasks that I needed to complete before the end of the year.

I was deep in thinking that all of a sudden my car interrupted my thought pattern with a sudden stop!

The malfunction alarm of the car turned on and the car stopped in the middle of the road.

I tried to turn on the car and pull over, but the car didn’t turn on! Except the flashing hazard light nothing else was working!

I was surprised! How my new car could ever stop while driving and doesn’t turn on again! What could have been wrong with the car?

As I tried turning on the car several times, I noticed that the gas tank was empty! Yes, I had run out of gas!

During the last 23 years that I’ve been driving, it was the first time that it ever happened!

While waiting in the car for the help to arrive, I saw cars passing by. Some were angry why I stopped in the middle of the road and blocked their way. Some looked inside the car as they drove by to make sure I was fine. Others didn’t care and drove passed by me with high speed.

Out of 50-70 cars that passed, only one car pulled over, a blue BMW. A very kind man got out of the car and came over to help me. He was concerned that other cars might hit me from the back in the dark and he wanted to help me pull the car off the road.

Although he couldn’t help due to the car malfunction, I felt a big sense of gratitude for his kindness and his willingness to help. He was one out of 70 who cared about a complete stranger and did everything he could to help.

This incident made me think deeply about what matters in life the most.

You might think…. but it was not such a big deal…. You just ran out of gas.

You might be right, but what you don’t know is that 3 minutes earlier I was driving in a busy 6-lane highway at night.

I was lucky that my car didn’t stop at the busy highway that I was driving in a few minutes before turning to the street that my car stopped; otherwise I would have been either dead or seriously injured now!

I am grateful for being safe and alive and thankful for the help of a total stranger.

I learned two big lessons from this experience that I would like to share with you;

1. Slow down and take it easy on yourself

How could I ever miss the empty tank alarm of the car?!!

I realized my mind was too busy lately with lots of tasks. I pushed myself so hard to accomplish every single goal that I planned out for the year. I wanted to finish the year strong. I sacrificed my personal and family time for work and business.

What if this incident marked the end of my life? Was it worth?

Of course not!

Sometimes we get too busy with work and make it the highest priority such that we forget about the most important things in life; our own health and family.

According to Rory Vaden, the author of the New York Times Bestseller book; “Take the Stairs”, “In business, what you don’t get done today can be done tomorrow, but with family what doesn’t get done today is gone forever.”

Do you have family fun times scheduled in your calendar? Do you have weekly date nights with your spouse or your kids?

If not, probably it is the time to start considering it.

As you start thinking about your New Year resolution goals, I encourage you to ask yourself how you can add more “fun” to your weekly calendar. How you can create weekly magical moments for your loved ones and your family?

Once you figure out the answer to these questions, block time in your calendar on a weekly basis to make it happen. For example, have one weeknight as a private date night with your spouse/ partner or a child. Block an hour or two on Friday afternoons for yourself and do something that you LOVE doing.

By doing so, you inject more fun and balance into your work schedule.

I am now committed to take my weekly fun times and date nights more seriously.

2. Be more generous and kind to other human beings

Only one out of 70 passing cars stopped to help out. Only one percent cared about another human being! Isn’t it such a low percentile for humanity and kindness?

If you were in the same situation, would you stop or pass by?

I remember several years ago in a snowy road of Edmonton while I was driving to work, I saw a car in front me stuck in the snowy uphill. I knew he wouldn’t be able to get out of snow in such a steep hill without help. I pulled off, got out of the car, and started pushing the car. As other cars drove by and saw a woman is pushing another car, one car after another stopped and joined me to help.

Why did I do it?

Well, a month earlier someone else did something similar to me. A woman got off her car and pushed my car when I was stuck. She even didn’t let me thank her. She got back in her car and drove by.

When I faced the same situation, I knew the other person would desperately need my help. I didn’t think whether or not I am capable of helping. I just did it.

The act of kindness never will be forgotten. You may not remember the name of the person or how he/she looked like, but you will always remember the moment that you needed help and someone was there for you.

In the spirit of Christmas, in addition to thinking what gift to buy for your loved ones, I urge you to think how you can be more kind, and caring to other human beings; how you can brighten the day of a complete stranger with your kindness. 

No act of kindness, no matter how small, will ever be forgotten. Be kind to other human beings, show your appreciation to all who helped you in one way or another, and create fun and magical moments for yourself and the people around you.

I wish you a safe and happy holiday season.

Merry Christmas & Happy New Year!