Thank Goodness for Traffic Jams!

I spend an average of two hours a day stuck in traffic…and this is just the time travelling to and fro office.  This is equivalent to 730 hours, 30 days or 1 month on the road in a year, NOT counting the hours spent going out for meetings, running errands, etc etc; not counting the many more hours sitting stagnant in the car during heavy downpours, unexpected road closures, accidents, and roadblocks.

Now, if we spend so much of our lifetime in traffic, it naturally becomes a significant part of our life.  We can’t discount the impact it has on our emotional state, health and well-being.  So after decades of waiting it out in a car, this is my conclusion.

You can be totally enraged with the horrendous traffic jams (and the bad drivers) and suffer even more stress and heartaches (which we really don’t need in our complicated lives)…or make that BIG U-turn in your mind and put the “congested” situation to good use.

…and the top five things I learned from traffic jams *honk-roll*:

1)   Patience – in life, you can’t rush to achieve success and happiness.  What we CAN do is take one traffic light at a time, one bump at a time.  Sometimes, if there’s really nothing we can do…do nothing. Wait for the green light…which never fails to light up anyways.

2)   Open-mindedness – during heavy traffic, cars always move faster in the left/slow lane…just like life, if we’re fixated with what we think is the truth or what we think is right, we’ll miss out on greater, more creative opportunities.  Be open to new ideas, new possibilities.  Go with the flow.

3)   Calm & clarity – in any given situation, staying calm ensures you stay ahead of the game.  No matter how much some people or some things try to provoke the anger or frustration in you, let it slide.  Reacting to provocation on the road (or in life) is dangerous (to you and other “drivers”).  What’s more, it’s just ridiculous to bring anger on to yourself when the other party is not affected.

4)   Self-reflection – a traffic jam is a great way to spend time with the most important person in the world - yourself…a perfect way to end the day while listening to your favorite song or DJ.  Now, if you’re stuck in traffic with loved ones, then just take it as an opportunity to spend quality time with them.

5)   Last but not least, traffic jams do make me learn how to stop (and live in the moment).  You’ll need to silent the busy mind in order to see the way out. 

So, all I can say is…thank goodness for traffic jams! J