1) SHORT CUT TO THE GRAVE – In this type
of aggressive and angry driving, people get upset
at anything and everything.
They are upset that the “jerk” behind
them is trying to pass them (she might have a patient
in the back seat and just trying to make it to
the emergency in time) and they are committed to
never let her do that.
Or they are upset that the white haired frail
guy in front of them is driving too slow. They
try harassing him with honking and worse. The effect
is immediate – blood pressure rises, breathing
becomes labored and brain cells start to sizzle.
Since high blood pressure is the number one “silent
killer” all around the world, I call this
driving method the “short cut to the grave.”
2) CHATTERING-MONKEYS DRIVING – This is
when we are not visibly upset at anybody but we
are nevertheless very busy in our brain, adding
things and subtracting things like a calculating
machine, constantly going over and over the problems
we have and all the tasks that need to be completed,
etc. There are a million monkeys chattering in
our brains.
This is a guaranteed way to arrive really tired
at our destination. Since we are not paying full
attention to traffic, there is a higher chance
that we might be missing a red light or miss that
truck barrelling down on us from the left lane...
Try this “chattering monkeys driving” method
and you'll be tired whole day.
3) PEACEFUL LET-GO DRIVING – And you have
another alternative: you can let go of anger and
mental chattering and just let things BE until
you arrive where you want to go.
You cannot change the conditions of the drivers
around you. You cannot help if someone is late
to the hospital or if someone is 85 years old and
cannot react quickly to the way light changes from
red to green.
But you can always control your mind, and control
what you think.
Think peace and let go. Tell your mind that nothing
is more precious than your inner peace and think
nothing negative for 10-seconds at a time. Try
this as a 10-second game and, repeated frequently
enough, you'll see that you are driving more and
more in a calm and collected manner to work or
home.
You have a choice. Today think about what you
are doing to yourself while driving and go for
inner peace, lower blood pressure and a better
world for us all.