Traffic Mindset: The 2 Choices You Have in Life

San Diego is my home and I love it dearly, however, I have been feeling like I am sitting in traffic more than I would like lately. I guess the downside to living somewhere so amaizng is that a million other people want to live there too!

I recently realized that I was letting this weigh on me more than I wanted. The amount of stress and frustration that I was feeling due to traffic was too much. I was even feeling sorry for myself and making myself a victim to these heinous, torturous circumstances. (Woe is me!!).

So I had a real talk with myself. My options are to schedule my life to avoid driving during traffic hours, OR to accept the fact that yes, there is traffic and yes, I am moving slower than I wish.

Totally rearranging my life doesn’t seem feasible right now so acceptance it is! In fact, I’ll take it a step further and embrace the traffic. This is a great opportunity to practice patience, to practice softening when I feel myself resisting the moment.

I use mantras such as “I know what patience feels like in my body”, and “I am doing all that I can in this moment” to help my nervous system relax. I have great audiobooks, podcasts and playlists lined up, and friends that I can call or voicenote to pass the time. Ultimately, traffic is out of my control, so being upset about it is a waste of my precious life force energy.

The true lesson here is that you have 2 choices when faced with a situation you don’t like - change the situation or change your relationship to it. Either way you are taking ownership of your life. It is easier said than done and will likely take practice but it’s worth the effort in the end. We have more impact on the quality of our lives than we often realize.

I hope this encourages you to reflect on how you have been relating to situations in your life, and to ask yourself if there is a more empowering perspective you can choose.