It happened again.
Last night, I was going on a date (dinner).
It was about 8:30, so kind of late for dinner.
One of the roads by the house is under constant construction.
Even at 8:30, on a Wednesday night, we hit traffic as the three lanes merge to one lane.
To get to the freeway, I typically take a side street to avoid the construction.
It’s a street right by Ava’s school, so I travel it often (we drive the kids to school).
I cut in the right lane (blocked off my cones) to make a right turn on the side street.
They’re in the process of adding a new lane, and right now that new lane is just dirt. It’s probably a 6-8 inch height difference from the road.
I didn’t see that and the front right tire went off the road.
Blew the tire out.
“MOTHERFUCKER!!” was screamed a couple of times.
I pulled in the 7-11 right on the corner.
I took out the spare tire at 8:28.
At 8:40, I put the flat tire back in the trunk.
Anytime I get a flat, I ALWAYS time myself.
12 minutes is my new record.
Last time, I believe it was 17 minutes.
I am extremely competitive, obviously.
The spare was flat, so I filled it up right there at 7-11.
We hopped back in the car and got dinner at a closer place.
A much more casual place.
I was quite upset when it first happened, but quickly got over that. Continuing to be upset after the fact is a waste of energy.
There was nothing I could do about what had happened.
When shit hits the fan, I like to ask the big Man upstairs, “What are you trying to teach me?”
It didn’t take long to uncover the answer.
It was this:
Slow down.
I was in such a rush to get to dinner as it was already late.
I was looking for a shortcut to save maybe 2 or 3 minutes.
There are other areas in my life where I need to enjoy the process as well.
To not try and rush things as much.
So next time things don’t go your way, or something unexpected happens, or you’re a dumbass like me and blow out a tire.
Stop and relax.
Ask yourself;
What can I learn from this?
What is this circumstance trying to teach me?
Is there a silver lining to this, if so, what is it?
This is a mindset hack that I developed several years ago.
It’s served me well.
Hopefully, it can do the same for you.
