Be the Driver In Your Life

This weekend I demolished my second bathroom and while I was sitting there with the crow bar tearing down moldy sheet rock I thought about what I was doing.

This bathroom had a pipe leak and has needed to be redone for many months. I shut the door and avoided it because it is a lot of work. I walk by it every day and even look at it from time to time and get frustrated. Finally, I came home on Saturday morning and said enough is enough. I took out my tools and went at it for a good hour tearing down the sheet rock and cleaning it out.

I realized that I had been avoiding doing the work for a long time. And I realized it was similar to the way I walked around obese for 10 years. Avoiding hard work.

We all become guilty of this at one point or another. We have these projects looming over us and it seems as if we will never be able to get them done. So we close the door and look the other way each day and hope it magically goes away on its own. I waited for a long time hoping my weight would just come off of me.

I was a passenger in my own life.

That is what a passenger looks like.

Usually when we decide to become the driver, it is from something driving us. An inner force takes over and we cannot compete any longer, we make the choice to become a driver in our life and force the passenger to the side. It does not matter what drives you to wake up, but I will say this, embrace it.

Take the force that drives you and learn from it. Allow the inner push to come out and take you from the passenger seat and into the drivers seat. Whatever you have been avoiding and closing the door on, open it up and take a look at it.

Does it make sense to keep walking past that broken wall everyday and not fix it? Does it make sense to look at those department stores and wish you could shop there again?

Nope.

It does make sense to stand up and do something about it. Even if you do not know what to do, ask for help.

I knew how to tear down the sheet rock so that is what I started doing. I do not know how to fix the plumbing and disconnect the sink and toilet so I can finish tearing down the walls, so I called someone to come over and help me do that. Similarly, when I knew I wanted to lose weight I did not know how to go about doing it. I walked into a Weight Watchers meeting and asked for help. It was the lowest point of my obesity ridden life. But I survived. I hated calling for help with the bathroom, I wanted to do it all on my own, but I knew if I wanted to be a driver, I would have to get some help.

Most drivers have a navigation system, map, or directions when they are traveling to a new destination. It works the same way in life. When we want to carve out a new destiny for ourselves we need help. Do not be afraid to turn on the navigation system and get some turn by turn directions while embarking on your lifestyle changes. Those directions will keep you moving forward in the right direction no matter what detours you may face.

Do not be a passenger on the ride of your life, be the Driver moving forward down the right road.

This is what a driver looks like :)

Are you a passenger in your life or are you driving?