Driver’s Seat

Have you ever driven on the highway before? You know, the one with seven lanes and multiple cars going at different speed? One aspect of highways is that everyone isn’t going at the same speed. You have the ones going way beyond the speed limit, another going slightly beyond speed limit, and those that are driving exactly the speed limit. When driving at such a fast paced environment, undivided attention becomes imperative. However, once you start stressing too much about what other cars in their own lane are doing or what’s happening behind you, distraction creeps in and you lose focus.

Same goes with life.

Life is not a race of who gets there first or the fastest—it’s a journey. It shouldn’t matter if your peers or those around you are moving at a faster pace than you are or progressing further in life than you are. What’s important is that you’re moving—that in the highway of life, you’re pressing the pedal and not remaining stagnant.

Social media has heightened the pressure to succeed quickly and increased the need for comparisons. “Oh she just got married and I’m still single!” “He is my age and just bought his second house and I’m still living with a friend,” “She just received her doctorate degree and here I am struggling to graduate college,” and etc. Keep in mind, these social media post captures only a very tiny aspect of their life. You don’t know their story or how long it took to arrive at their destination. Therefore, it’s a disservice to you to compare yourself to them. If anything, their success story should inspire, uplift, and not demotivate you.

Ask yourself, who am I competing against? Drive at your own pace. Focus on yourself. Tune out the distractions. If you keep driving at your own speed, surely, you will get to your destination. It’s absolutely okay if it takes you longer to get there—what counts is that you get there. At the end, when you finally arrive at your desired destination, you realize no know really cares how long it took.

Life is a journey. Why not enjoy the view and relish in the moment while listening to your favourite song because everything will be okay. Whether the car on your left passes you up, or the one on your right slows down a bit, you’ll still get to where you’re going.

Keep driving. Keep accelerating. Keep pedaling. You’ll get there, eventually.

#TheSunShinethAgain!