No one really enjoys a morning commute.
It's about as fun as going to the doctor or paying your taxes: Dreadful and completely necessary.
I recently had an epiphany while I was laying on my car horn during my ride to work: Our daily commutes are so much like life itself.
Every morning, afternoon and evening, we're traveling to our destinations. Our destinations are not just a hop, skip and a jump away.
The commute takes great effort and a lot of patience.
I've always been told that nothing is easy in life, and that is something I often repeat to myself.
If I want to see results or accomplish a goal, I need to be patient and work my way through any obstacles that stand in my way.
The commute itself is plagued with so many metaphors for your journey in life, and I'll break down all of them.
On any given day, you can be slowed down with traffic. It could be steady, but that doesn't mean you won't be overwhelmed with anxiety about whether you'll reach your destination on time.
Sometimes, traffic is bumper-to-bumper or even gridlocked, which means your journey to your end goal may take a bit longer than you planned.
The traffic serves as a roadblock to your life, and you just need to navigate it at your own pace.
Everyone else on the road serve as reminders of the people you have come across on your journey to achieve your end goal.
What about those people who are forever in the lane in front of you, with the blinkers on, trying to switch lanes, but just stay coasting?
Those drivers are the equivalent of people who come into your life and can't make up their minds about whether they should be part of it or not. How about those people who cut you off or slam on their breaks in front of you?
All of these people represent the numerous obstacles and situations we encounter in everyday life.
Those sudden stops and out-of-nowhere incidents are the unpredictability of life.
You just need keep a good pace behind them and deal with them as they come your way.
Speed limits and traffic lights are also symbols in our life journeys.
Yes, the speed limits are there to protect us, but they also don't allow for us to take risks.
Of course, the people who get caught speeding are the people who took those risks and got caught. However, that's okay because it shows us that sometimes, risks don't always pay off.
Traffic lights are there to stop us from running into one another, and they also let everyone have a turn. But, does that just mean we should stand by and watch others land our opportunities first?
What bothers me in life is that there are always limitations and guidelines to follow, and those restrictions can stifle a person's ability to think outside the box.
We are told too often what we can and cannot do, and it agitates me to no end. Sometimes, you just have to ignore those speed limit signs and take the risk. (I have the speeding tickets to prove it.)
Those who get pulled over for speeding, those who pull over to the side of the road and car accidents that happen in front of you also serve as distractions in life.
They slow us down on our journeys and can distract us from our end goals.
Have you ever been stuck in traffic for an extended period of time and wondered why?
It's usually so other people can slow down and look at whatever distraction is on the road. When distractions pop up, ignore them and keep driving.
If you immerse yourself in distractions, you could forget your end goal and your journey.
You may even become a distraction yourself.
The past two years of my life have been filled with thoughts about who I am, where I'm going and what I want to do.
It's because of my commute that I realized how much time I've wasted being distracted and how I have forgotten where I am going.
Next time you're on the road, make the most of your commute. It may just take you to the next great journey of your life.
