Driving our best life

Life is like a box of chocolates, a roller coaster, a mirror or riding a bike, or like a camera or like an ocean. You see all sorts on the internet, including about roads, but my favourite one is “life is like a turtle, you won’t get very far unless you stick your neck out.”

Life is like driving and I apologise for repeating myself on this as several of my previous posts have been about this comparison.

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Life is the road, and we are the vehicle…

Roads are often bumpy, full of twists and turns, obstacles in our way, the unexpected such as congestion, accidents, and other road users, good and bad, don’t start me off on driving behaviours!

Depending on our mood when we start off we may deal with things differently when things get a bit tough out there, the same goes for life in general. I know if I have a horrendous journey I have to decompress before I go to see someone or get home. Listening to music or looking at photos that make me smile (obviously not when I’m driving), send all those lovely chemicals raging into my body and make me forget about that journey from hell.

If we plan our journey and give ourselves plenty of time then the chance is fairly high that we will get to where we want to, on time and safely, but it doesn't always go to plan as life has a habit of throwing things at us. But if we follow those simple rules then we have more control over it.

If we prepare our vehicle with fuel, screen wash, water etc. and make sure our vehicle is serviced regularly and have access to breakdown assistance then we are more in control of when things go wrong, and the risk is reduced.

So, if we are the vehicle we need to keep ourselves serviced and fuelled up, making sure that we are fit to drive, to work and to cope with everyday challenges.

Sometimes we take a detour in our vehicles if a road is closed or busy or blocked, we often take detours when we rely on our satnavs too much and not on our instinct and eyes, we take wrong turns. If we use our satnavs too much we miss the good stuff - like nature such as fields, animals and birds, the sights and the sounds.

These wrong turns sometimes take us into unfamiliar territory making us feel unsafe, taking us more time to reach where we want to go, but they can also bring new things to see, new experiences and in some cases a shortcut to where we are heading. In life, we often take the wrong turns or decide on a different route, sometimes it doesn’t quite work out but sometimes it does. Wherever you start is not where you end up in life or in a career. There are so many roads still to travel on.

Driving is about going forwards, you occasionally glance back and to the side to see if there is anything behind you or in your blind spot, any threats to your safety and your journey. And here is my favourite thing to say (again).......

Your windscreen is bigger than your rearview mirror for a reason – focus on going forward, only look back when you need to and not for long as when you take your eyes off the road things can go wrong.

When we have a difficult day or lose sight of where we are heading or our goals then introspection is good, looking back to how far you have come is powerful as long as you stay focused on what is in front of you, just like driving.

Just like a vehicle, life is not fully in your control and things do happen which you don’t expect, but if you do all the other things like plan and prepare then the risk will be lower and hopefully the consequences too. We cannot control the roads, but we can decide on the route to take, but remembering that it may not always go to plan.

So, if things don’t quite go to plan, consider everything you have accomplished to get to where you are today, every life you have touched, every moment you have pushed yourself out of your comfort zone and everyone who has made you smile or you have made them smile.

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