Cruising & Choosing: How to Cruise Through Traffic to A Better Place
You’re driving down the road. You’re late. It’s one lane in each direction and there’s a little old lady in front of you in a ‘49 Packard doing 24 mph. Or maybe it’s a two lane road, but traffic’s at a dead stop. No, wait, it’s three lanes that squeeze down to one because an overturned Mr. Softee truck is leaking ice cream and has attracted a huge herd of feral cats! Whatever the problem, you’re still in a hurry, thinking, “Dammit! Just when I’m short of time, this has to happen!”
You crane your neck to the right and left, trying to see around the situation. You look for a break in the traffic, then you look at your watch and now you’re under more pressure! The voice in your head says, “Why me? Why does this always happen to me?” Your frustration quickly turns to anger, “Whoever’s in front of me is an idiot! I’m going to be late! I hate this! I’m wasting gas! I wish could plough through this mess with a Sherman tank!” Another day on the road to Stressville….
Are we having fun yet? What’s happening here? Everyone knows stress is unhealthy. It literally kills people. Stress produces cortisol, a chemical that clogs your arteries until your heart stops. Stress has killed many a motorist infuriated by the “inconsiderate, thoughtless, selfish morons” on the road. These times make us want to punish these idiots for the foolish choices they made that created the stressful situation. The tension builds and builds and you begin to feel it in your gut and your head and soon, every fiber of your being!
What are your options here? You can’t make the traffic jam disappear. So, do you choose to be miserable, go off the deep end, drive on the sidewalk or on the shoulder and risk expensive consequences and possibly, deep regret, high blood pressure and an early grave?
Or do you take the high road (no pun intended), choose to believe the delay is protecting you from harm further down the road and the jammed traffic is doing you a favor, keeping you out of harm’s way. That philosophical point of view could actually be true!
Your choice says a lot about who you are. The consequences of being late are nothing compared to the benefit of staying safe, remaining calm, reducing stress and taking control over your attitude, your life and your health. If you’re going to be late anyway, you’re not helping yourself by being miserable, angry and frustrated. The choice is completely up to you.
If you find it difficult to trade stress for a positive attitude, but you wish you could behave more rationally, you have the same dilemma facing so many of us trying to cope in an uncooperative world. If you truly want more peace in your life, spend 20 minutes with me on a complimentary Chemistry Call. Let’s talk about what’s on your mind. If it sounds like I can help, we’ll work together to motivate you to change! Send me an e-mail and we’ll set a time to talk!
