I live in Kitchener, Ontario. Much like any city, we have some road construction going on. Unlike many cities though, it’s happening at an unprecedented level. 

You drive up a street one day and nothing. You come back the next day, and there’s a detour. The other day I came to a major and very busy intersection near my home, and it was gone! No seriously, they’ve built temporary roads around what used to be an intersection as they are putting in a traffic circle.

In all of this, you can imagine how easy it is to get frustrated. No matter how I route home through the city, there always seems to be heavy traffic. Yesterday, I took a road which is typically fairly quiet, and it was packed and backed up. 

At one point yesterday I found myself getting upset at a driver, who was doing something and getting in my way. It was at this moment I just reminded myself of a saying my mentor Christopher Avery taught me: “Drivers drive.” 

So I reminded myself I am choosing to be on this road, and a part of this choice is to be with other drivers who drive in their unusual and sometimes dysfunctional way. So I decided not to stress myself out. The rest of my drive home was a beautiful thing, even though the traffic wasn’t.

Thought of the week

Do you find yourself thinking about how someone or something stresses you out? You might even get a little hot under the collar, and say some things you’re not particularly proud of. You get home after a busy commute, and you feel exhausted and stressed because of the other drivers on the road. 

Let me tell you a little secret: the only one stressing you out; is you. No one, no matter what they’re doing, no matter how much they’re inconveniencing you can stress you out. The job of stressing you out is solely yours.

The cool part about being human is you get to choose your response to the world around you. So let me ask; Do you enjoy being all stressed out in traffic? Do you enjoy getting upset because someone inconveniences you a bit?

Why not make a different choice, and remind yourself that drivers drive. Trust me; it makes for a far more pleasant drive, evening and life.