Hold the wheel and drive

First of all, a song of the day!

This is an artist whose album just came out last month I believe, and let me tell you, it's incredible! If you like Justin Nozuka's latest album, chances are you'll love Joshua Radin! His new album is called The Rock and the Tide. You should really check it out on iTunes but I'll post one of my faves on here for now. I'll probably post more in the future :)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FHCzp-3sBp0&p=CDBB9DFFE5C76252


I'll post more songs of his from youtube if better videos come up because this isn't the song I was hoping to post but it's still good nonetheless! So far, they're crappy or the songs aren't available :( (I was hoping to post song called the rock and the tide for those interested!)

I was driving to the mall, en route to my haircut, and I had a bit of a thought. I do a lot of thinking in my car by the way.

First of all, the colors are stunning this year aren't they? I love this time of year when the leaves are brightly colored. 

The field in front of my house about a month ago. It was so beautiful at the time, my camera didn't quite capture it though.

Second of all. Driving is kind of like life.

How the heck did I come up with that? Allow me to explain.

I tend to look in my rear view mirror a lot when driving. And not to admire my reflection. I'm not quite that vain.

Sitting here thinking about it, I'm not entirely sure why I do it.  But I'm constantly checking my rear view mirror. It really is a dumb habit to have, because really I should be focusing ahead. (I do focus ahead so don't go and think I'm a terrible driver, I just tend to take a lot of glances in my rear view mirror)



It's a lot like life. I tend to dwell WAY too much on the past. What's done is done. I need to start every day brand new, and forget about the mistakes I've made. I can't change the past. But for some strange reason, I have this habit of focusing on the past, to the point where I don't even know how to completely look ahead. I'm consistently taking those quick glances in my "rear view mirror" so to speak.

And I'm not sure how I can relate this to the experiences of life, but I hate tailgaters. Seriously. What makes me laugh is when someone who is tailgating you goes around you and hits the first red light and you're right behind them. TOO good. Karma's a bitch. 

So what happens when we're speeding through life?

We don't take the time to "STOP and smell the roses." (Yes, I'm going to use one of those painful cliches.) 


You know what we also forget to do? Stop and THINK. Or even God forbid RELAX.


We're so uptight these days. Myself included. There are days when I'm so uptight I can't even think straight. When I'm noticing this in myself, I try and stop, take a deep breath, and refocus. 

Take right this very moment. I'm having a mini panic attack about tax homework and the tax midterm in two weeks. I'll be lucky if I pass the stupid thing.  AND there's a yoga class at my church of all places tonight which I've been wanting to go to for AGES. My internal battle right now is whether to go or not. I haven't been to yoga in an embarrassingly long time, and it really would be good for me, but do I have the time? But then I think to myself, if I don't go, am I really going to do my homework anyway? Probably not.


It's difficult in school to not be up tight. Especially people like myself who put a lot of effort into everything they do. But even now, there are some things in my life that I absolutely refuse to stress about.

Last year, I stressed out way too much, and it wasn't healthy.  I look back on it now, and realize that there might've been a reason I wasn't feeling well a good chunk of last year. Maybe because I overstressed. 


I decided to prioritize the things I was going to "stress" about. And really, I decided that generally I was going to do less stressing and more living. It's still something I'm working on, but generally, I'm finding that it's working out. I'm happier, and I generally feel better. 


Prioritize things that are important to you. Make a list that's either physical, mental or both. That way, when you're thrown a curve ball, you can decide "is this something I can deal with right now?" Because you can't do everything all at the same time. 

Some people thrive on doing everything at once. That's fine, if you can handle it. But that's where the list comes in handy. 

Top the list off at 10. And put the most stress on the top 3-5.  Don't make a list of 10 things you'll stress about 100% of the time. Make a list of 10 things, and divide 100% of your time and energy into those 10 things.


So put say 30% into your first thing, 25% into your second thing etc. 

I think doing something like this helps a person keep balanced. Otherwise, you have no idea where to focus your attention. 


So. Take a moment. Don't speed your way through life. Figure out where your priorities are so that you can use your time to the fullest. Don't look back, just keep trucking forward.