Sonja Rayne Lee
Who’s in the driver’s seat?
Do you remember being behind the wheel for the very first time in your own car and feeling empowered? You could drive wherever you wanted to go, and it was a satisfying sense of freedom. It’s the same scenario with life. When you become of age, you’re in the driver’s seat of life. You get to decide where you want to go and how you’re going to get there. And just like driving a car, it takes a lot of confidence to get behind that wheel.
But what happens when you have a backseat driver telling you to ‘slow down’ or ‘watch out for that car’? You may start questioning your driving skills and/or get super annoyed. I have two backseat drivers who like to tag along occasionally, named Fear and Doubt. Heard of them? They can be a royal pain in the ass, but they mean well. Their goal is to protect. Fear and Doubt like to warn me about everything to make sure I don’t get into an accident. Meaning in life terms, they don’t want to see me get hurt so they are constantly warning me. Fear says, “I don’t think it’s safe for us to take a risk. We might fail or be judged.” Doubt says, “That is way out of our comfort zone. I don’t think we’re ready for that so let’s just stay safe and hidden.” The more they badger me, the more I begin to believe them. I find myself moving backwards instead of forwards, and never reaching my destination.
So, ask yourself, what is the point of being behind the wheel if you’re not going to drive? Are you allowing Fear and Doubt to continuously direct you on where to go? If it was up to them, they would make you stay in park. Don’t you want to reach your destination? I sure as heck do. I’ve come to learn that Fear and Doubt will show up from time to time, but I remind them that I am in the driver seat and in control. I thank them for their concerns, but I got the wheel! It sometimes can be challenging, but I keep pushing forward until I reach where I’m going.
Take control of your life wheel.
You Got This!
