Are you riding shotgun?
I didn’t get my driver’s license until I was 30. I relied on public transport and taxis. I was also an expert scammer of lifts until I started living and working in the same suburb and then I rode a bicycle.
I decided it was time and I began taking driving lessons. I passed my test first go and I bought my very first car off a girlfriend; a white Volkswagon Golf, named Dub Man.
Dub Man was a taste of freedom I had never known.
To jump in on a whim and go wherever I desired was exhilarating, road trips with the radio on and the windows down were intoxicating.
I was in the driver’s seat and I could drive myself wherever I desired.
At the beginning of this magnificent adventure of finding my purpose in coaching others to reach their full potential, I first had to realise I wasn’t reaching my own. It was not a simple revelation, as the big ones rarely are.
It was messy. It came about when I realised that the life I was currently living wasn’t necessarily one I’d chosen, but one that I had fallen into by default.
I realised I was riding shotgun in my life.
Riding shotgun these days simply means in the passenger seat, but once that person had the great responsibility of protecting the coach from bandits and robbers. They literally rode with a shotgun in the passenger seat.
The thing is, often when you’re riding shotgun in your life, you will indeed defend your position. I hear it a lot.
Change is too hard, too unknown, too unreliable, and where you are now is not too bad.
Making changes requires not only time, effort and resources but also commitment and courage so it may feel easier to defend where you currently are, even if it’s not quite right.
That is, it’s easy until suddenly it’s not.
People often say of major life changes that one day they just knew it was time.
In fact, usually, there have been a million little signs and pushes along the way until one day you can no longer ignore them. Something either happens to you, or something comes from within you.
Like me getting my driver’s license. I got a job a two-hour public transport ride away that would be done in half the time with a car.
Did it take courage to learn to drive on the busy streets of Sydney? Was it an investment to pay for every single hour required of lessons because I had no parent to let me drive their car? Did it take months of commitment?
Yes, to all of the above, but the freedom I was afforded by being in the driver’s seat was worth it.
Where in your life are you riding shotgun? Is it time to take the wheel and steer your life where you would like it to go?
If it is, maybe you need to make some changes first. Maybe you need to level up your knowledge or your confidence. You may need to improve your skills or improve your mindset. Maybe you need help and support to believe you are worthy of everything you desire.
Whatever you need to do, don’t wait. Life is pretty sweet when you’re in the driver’s seat.
