A couple of days ago, I was involved in a fender-bender. It
was not my fault and there was very little damage, but I was seriously scared
and shaky for the rest of the day. Then
the next day, I noticed I am looking for excuses to not leave the house and not
to drive. It was hard pushing myself out of the front door and starting my car. It
got me thinking how many times a bad experience scares us so much that we
prefer to retreat to our safe little corner and forget everything else… to stop
driving long distance, stop driving on the freeways, stop driving all together,…
stop going to meetings, to work, to classes,
stop taking exams, meeting other people…. How many times we stop a necessary
part of life simply because we are too scared?
What got me moving yesterday was the thought that if I stay
home and don’t drive because I am nervous right now, I would look for more and
more excuses and become homebound out of fear. As soon as I realized that, I
got up and took my car to the supermarket. It was only a block from my house
but it broke that paralyzing spell of fear.
That’s how I usually deal with scary situations… I plunge
myself head first into them without giving myself much time to think about the
scary aspects. I know if I start thinking and planning about every situation
which gives me pause, my procrastinating nature would take over and stop me
from ever doing anything new. I don’t want to end up like a hamster in a cage,
safe but trapped my whole life.
Hamsters are cute but their lives are pathetic. I don't want to turn into a hamster!
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