It’s relatively easy to forget how complicated something like driving can be. Years after receiving your license, you might be able to hop in a car and drive without much effort or concentration. This is especially the case if you have your accustomed routes and destinations. Get in, go, get out. Then repeat. At some point, driving becomes an essential yet mindless routine for most drivers.
However, nothing will shock you out of that mindlessness like teaching someone how to drive. In particular, when you’re trying to instruct two of your younger sisters while on the road, who already choose not to listen to you and think they’re the Gen Z reincarnations of Leonardo da Vinci and Alan Turing. So, there I found myself, in the passenger seat, hand choking the armrest beside me as I constantly checked our blind spots. Giving control of my safety and life to the hands of these two novice drivers, well, that makes one begin to rethink driving in great depth and from a beginner’s perspective.
After a few lessons, back in the comfort of the driver’s seat, I did just that: I started thinking about the road before me. Specifically, I was stuck in traffic, frustrated, bored, and simply wanting to get home. After a while of the steady crawl forward, my thoughts racing while my body seemingly sat stagnant, I started seeing things differently from beneath my polarized sunglasses. Driving and traffic slowly became metaphors with which I began to compare the concepts of productivity and self-development.
Here’s the thing: I know that driving is an obvious and natural metaphor for progression and growth because one drives to get from point A to point B. And especially in our Western culture, that linear idea is so ingrained in us. It’s woven deep within our media and stories and even permeates our frameworks beyond narratives. From our reading and visualizing momentum from left to right, or whether discussing the “timeline” of our lives or the act of setting goals and reaching milestones, they’re often all measured through a similar linear fashion like that of a road or journey. But beyond that, there is a lot more that driving, especially coupled with bothersome traffic, can teach us about how to maneuver and efficiently head towards our desired destinations.
Again, it’s all quite simple, but hopefully helpful nonetheless. So, I’m not here to reinvent the wheel—instead, I’ll steer it slightly. Let me teach you what I’m learning.
Know Your Destination 📍
Pull out the GPS. What’s the best possible outcome for this trip?
Before anyone embarks on any road trip, big or small, it is helpful to have an idea of where you’re headed. Obvious, right? Well, yes, but if we’re looking at this through the lens of life’s highway, we can make a mistake by getting on a specific road with no end in sight, which is a sure way to aimlessly waste energy and engender burnout.
Sure, our particular directions may change as various obstacles (or opportunities) appear before us. Still, as long as we know where we’d like to end up, that’s the key needed to start the car and begin this season’s journey.
For me, the goal of being a writer has almost always been an ambition. The potential paths to get there have varied—screenwriter, journalist, novelist, marketing copywriter—but the destination has remained relatively the same. I also will never claim to know exactly what lies on the road ahead, but I’m heading in the right direction because I have a vision of the target, at least for now. And if I need to course-correct, the GPS will reroute me.
Do you have a desired destination? Reply to this email and let me know.
Safety First 🙏
Buckle up, check the weather, silence your phone, and look at potential hazards that might lie ahead.
Most definitely, in the past, people have gone down the road that you also want to travel. If so, what can you learn from them before you set forth? We can always glean so much from life’s previous travelers. Visit a library and dive into their insights by reading history and memoirs. Listen to interviews from various perspectives. Ryan Holiday says that our greatest mentor is the past. Why would we potentially hit the same potholes, causing a flat, when we don’t have to? Yes, we have to learn some lessons through our own experiences, but imagine all the time we'd save if we were as teachable and open-minded as possible.
We can even ask an advisor to ride shotgun for some of the way. They may know a shortcut or two.
Start the Ignition 🚙
Gas or electric—it all requires us to take action.
When we’re ready to journey, all set with a banger playlist or a queue of podcasts lined up for the trip, there comes a point where we just need to go. This means that you've already found the spark that will propel you forward, one that is worth exploring what lies ahead. Because another trap, like having no idea of a destination, is that we can become frozen by fear to get on the path because we don’t feel ready or qualified enough to journey yet. You might need a few trips around the block before gearing up for the highway, but once you’ve had your laps, don’t delay your destination any longer. Remember that even the Mona Lisa began with a single brushstroke.
"The secret to getting ahead is getting started."
—Mark Twain
Press the Pedal and Hit the Road 🚦
When starting, you might not know how much pressure to apply to the pedal, but you’ll eventually get a feel for what’s right for specific situations.
If you’re used to practicing driving at a max speed of 30 mph through neighborhoods, going 65+ on the highway can feel drastically different. But here's what's important to remember: No matter where you are, again, you must first travel through side streets and access roads to get to the highway. We all have our start. So start now and stop worrying about the fast lane until you’re closer to it and skilled enough to merge. That time will come. Don't waste the present moment anticipating a time that isn't quite here.
Starting Cristian’s Commonplace, taking a writing workshop, and doing a social media rebrand are all examples of starts for me.
Considering your destination, what’s a start that you could make happen right now?
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You don't need to see the whole staircase, you just need to take the next step.
—Martin Luther King Jr.
Checking Mirrors 👀
Develop the skill of taking quick glances to check your surroundings, while knowing when to keep your eyes on the bumper in front of you.
When driving, being aware of your surroundings is vital. One shouldn't only take occasional, clear glances at mirrors when taking a driving test. It's essential to keep that practice, always. However, as a learning driver, it might be tempting to look at the mirrors far too often or for a little longer than required. Because if one is driving on a highway with their vision glued to the rearview, they're sure to crash into what's in front of them, especially in stop-and-start traffic. Be aware of your surroundings while remembering that it's hazardous to focus only on what's beside and behind you. The rearview mirror is an essential tool for the road, but just don't mistake it for the windshield.
In the same way, on our productivity journey, if we only focus on the last thing we wrote, the analytics of the previous year's campaign, or what our neighbor is launching, then we're not engaged with what's potentially ahead of us. Apart from the safety concern, you’re also doing yourself a disservice by not pressing onward. Remember the past, but don't dwell on it.
Switching Lanes 🫱
Navigating when and how to safely switch lanes is daunting at first, even more so when caught up within highway traffic—I know.
If you're too focused on switching lanes to get into the fast lane before you're ready, you're probably going slower than you should be in the lane you're currently in. This isn't only holding yourself back, but also those around you, because you want to advance before your time. Because to switch over, you have to be aware of blind spots. Again, you're having to check what's next to you.
So, don’t force it. If your blinker is on, you’ve already signaled that you’re ready to move over. You can’t control if the drivers next to you will allow you in. But if you keep steady in the lane you’re already in, a sweet spot will surely open up for you to move over and go a little faster. There’s a right time—and a wrong time—for everything. The mastery comes in determining which is which. Be patient. Don’t be one to try and force your way in.
Avoid Burnout 😪
For some people, getting entrenched in car stats and the numbers is so easy to do. Don't worry about that if you're not looking to be a professional racer.
The more often you go 0-60, the faster you burn fuel. Cruise into it. Find your pace in the lane you're in. If someone besides you has a stretch ahead of them and they stomp down and speed up only to brake because of the bundle of traffic ahead, let them. However, you know better. Consistently going 0-60 is not sustainable or even necessary. Try to avoid burnout. We're here for a long ride.
You may even find your own stretch where you can turn on cruise control at an efficient, peaceful pace.
The Fast Lane 💨
You’ve worked through the previous lanes and are ready to merge into the fast lane. What now?
The secret is that merging into the fast lane is like all the other lanes. Except, of course, everything's faster. But by now, you're used to going at highway speeds. And the relativity of the pace you're traveling in and the speed of the other drivers feels much more natural. It's no longer daunting. You also might know you simply can't go the once-comfortable 30 mph here. Absolutely not. Now, the inverse is true: Where you were used to a steady pace prior, now that steady pace will be out of place and unsafe here. In fact, the steady pace on the highway has even changed, and you've got a feeling for it.
Momentum works the same in the fast lane, but everything's exponentially elevated because of the physics and relativity of it all. For example, if you were in standstill traffic a few miles back, going 40 mph for a sudden stretch feels much faster. You appreciate the short bit of progress gained. But suppose you're caught in the fast lane and encounter another frustrating bit of traffic. In that case, it's also important to know that braking will be trickier, too. The stop and start of it all also takes some getting used to. You may even have to get out of the fast lane for a bit. That's okay, too.
So, when you find your sweet spot and put in the time and effort to navigate to it, you can join in, where others also worked to get there. They're in their element, and so are you. You're going their speed while not hindering them, and vice versa. You all are going further and faster, together. And you earned it, no matter how long it took you to get into the fast lane.
Fuel Up 💤
We all need to pull over to recharge and refuel.
It’s simple: No matter how your specific road trip looks, who you are, or how long you’ve been traveling, we all need to relax and take the time and proper space to rest. Again, burnout isn’t beneficial for anyone.
Maybe, while you're resting, you'll find a perfect moment for reflection on how far you've come. Ultimately, we might learn that the journey might be the most special part. Because although we don't entirely control the destination or the outcome, we control each step, each mile. Eventually, we'll return to our journey or begin anew. Either way, we'll ride freely with the windows down, hand cutting through and surfing the breeze, singing along to our favorite songs.
We might also remember that fueling up is the first necessary part of any journey. So, staring here, from a place of appreciation, is essential.
"Our practice is to stop running, and to be aware that all the wonders of life are available in the here and now."
