Worry About Yourself

“Mom, why are you so worried about everyone else? Just worry about yourself.”

This was my younger son from the back seat while I was driving him to an appointment and getting a little ragey at the idiot drivers that are teeming everywhere I go. I was making a verbal comment to everyone who irritated me as if they might hear me and correct the error of their ways. I know you do this too, right?

The driver going 40 mph on the ramp to enter the highway could have caused an accident! I can’t let her get away with that!

My initial response was to get defensive when my son gave me that sage advice (that I’m sure I previously gave him at some point in his young life.) But then I realized that he was right. Me getting all ragey and worked up about these people who are being unsafe and not following basic traffic rules is not going to help.

I explained to my son that it is important to pay attention to all the surrounding drivers because what they do will in fact impact my ability to drive safely. While I do need to be aware of those other drivers on the road, I don’t need to make it my personal responsibility to try to correct them because, surprisingly, they can’t hear my spoken wisdom. And I don’t think they would change even if they could hear me.

Unknowingly, my son was reminding me of the main tenet of the book I just finished reading for my book club, The Let Them Theory by Mel Robbins. I need to let those drivers do what they are going to do and then do what I need to do to stay safe.

Yelling at the other drivers only serves to irritate me more. If I take a breath, realize there is nothing to be done about the other drivers and I will get there when I get there, my drive becomes much more peaceful.

This interaction served as a great reminder to worry about myself more and about others less.

And here’s another reason why it is so timely: In the last couple of weeks, I have come to a crossroads in my career path. As I evaluate where I want my journey to lead, it is vital to remember that I should consider myself and what will make me ultimately happy. I don’t want to worry about what others will think or expect of me. I don’t want to be doing anything that doesn’t serve my deeper purpose. I want to shine my light as bright as I can, and I think that means I will need to change course. 

Stay tuned…