Priorities. Have you set them, or are you coasting? Coasting is kind of dangerous. As you read this, know that at any point in our lives, we can tap the brake and take control. The choice is ours.
Think about coasting. Cruise control. While coasting, our foot is off the pedals, maybe our shoe is off too (who else does this?), just watching the scenery go by, fingers tapping a tune on the steering wheel, mind wandering…
Boom! Obstacle on the road. We swerve, gripping the wheel. The car beside us honks and swerves with us. Obstacle hits the back wheel because we couldn’t swerve any further into the other lane. Where’s my shoe?!
Whew. Heart is pounding in our ears. Both hands back on the wheel now at 10:00 and 2:00. Music turned down a bit. Foot back on the pedal (I’ll get my shoe later) and eyes straight ahead. Taillights of the other guy fading into the horizon.
Dang it. That was your exit! Missed it while trying to regain control. A few miles down the road there’s a turn around. Back track. Regretting the time lost. Could have been there already…
The analogy falls short in a few places, but the end is the same. If we don’t have a goal, we’ll just coast through life, at the mercy of whatever comes our way. If we have goals but no real focus or priorities, we may get to our destination eventually, perhaps one shoe missing!
And, so much will have been wasted, or sadly we may continue to coast on the road of complacency, afraid or too tired to push the pedal ourselves… and miss the exits of growth and opportunity while the taillights of others keep disappearing in the haze.
Sometimes we just have to re-calibrate. Readjust where our hands are on the wheel of life, check the rear-view mirror, and leave the last part of the journey behind, determined to make that next exit.
Tap on the break this week.
What area in your life right now needs re-calibrating? Have you missed a couple of exits (opportunities)?
No condemnation. Find the next turn-around or maybe let it go and find a new exit.
Vickie L. Perez: Vitality 