A good friend had to make an unexpected drive down the motorway last week, on the day of his 60th birthday. Not exactly the type of day he’d envisaged as he’d been getting closer to celebrating this milestone.
So that morning, before the journey, and while walking his dog, he engaged in some quiet meditation. In short, he gave himself a talking to and decided to be positive and happy all day.
My friend is a very experienced, professional driver (now retired) and master of roadcraft who knows more than a thing or two about the skills, and dangers, of motorway driving. So his trip down the M1, while not what he’d have chosen to do on a special (or any) birthday, was not the biggest challenge of his life; yet it could still have blighted his day had he not chosen to embrace his newfound positivity.
In a conscious move . . .
- he “let in” drivers who had tried to get ahead in a queue but were now in the wrong lane
- he waved at everyone and smiled (this made us smile too)
- and he rang the Police when he saw a lone woman driver break down – a good citizen indeed (and to be fair, only what we’d have expected of him anyway, for he is a good, honest man with wonderful values).
But he liked the choice he made to be positive; it got him through his morning, which he’d planned would look very different from a lengthy motorway trek.
He made a choice, he took control.
ChristineWilkinsonCoaching 