Left lane. Drive in the left lane.
We had our good friends from Chicago over this past weekend and we naturally reminisced about past get-togethers and vacations we’ve taken together. One was a few years ago when we, along with some other friends, decided to go all-out and rent a house in The Bahamas.
It was a great trip. Our place was serene. Company was good. Our respective kids (we all only had one at the time) all had a blast.
One day on that trip, Nate, Brent, and I decided we needed to go for a beer run so we jumped in the car and headed into town. We jumped into one of our rental cars and were about to pull out of our driveway with me at the wheel. I was turning right out of our driveway so I looked left, no one was coming in the right lane, so I pulled out.
Mistake.
We all immediately screamed.
Every single curse word we knew.
A car was in our lane…more accurately, we were in its lane. It was honking and coming straight at us. I swerved to the left lane just in time and continued to drive in the left lane — the proper lane while in The Bahamas.
My heart was beating out of my chest and I recall profusely apologizing for almost widowing our wives. Holy shit. Writing this now makes me think of it and I’m still uncomfortable.
Nate and Brent were cool about it as they admitted that we all forgot about it when we got in the car. The steering wheel was on the American side of the car so when we got in, there wasn’t a physical reminder that things were going to be backwards. We were all on hum-dee-hum automatic pilot. Doing what we’ve done thousands of times in our lives without even thinking.
Well, we arrived at the market alive. We bought our beer. I apologized around 800 more times, and we drove back to our place on the right side…er…correct side of the road which was the left side.
We lived to tell the tale, and tell it we did…except maybe the part when we all screamed like 12 year-old girls. But you know, everything else.
Refresher course on how to focus
Driving in the left lane, if you’ve ever done it in another country, is super fun (well, when you remember to actually do it). Right? It takes something that you know well and turns it backwards. It’s fun because it takes you back to being a new driver and demands a certain level of deep focus again. To think about every single little thing. It asks that you do the same thing you’ve done countless times, but in a different way, to activate and use certain parts of your thinking again.
Sometimes, the correct way to do something is the exact opposite of what you’re used to, and we should learn to embrace those times as reminders on how to focus and be present in every action.
Doing things the same way over and over is a good way to get into a rhythm, but what if that rhythm is the only one you know? What if you forget how to change that rhythm?
Making old things new again
It can be a healthy exercise to put yourself in a position where the opposite of what you’re used to — or how you’ve always done things — is the right way. Hell, even if it’s the wrong way on purpose, it gets you out of a stage of complacency and forces you to think about what you’re doing again…about where you are. About being there…right then.
Working on Magic Room Brand allows me the flexibility to go in between finding a rhythm, and changing things up entirely so it’s all new again. Sometimes change is a good idea, and sometimes keeping things the same is the better call, but reminding yourself that you know how to focus and start all over again if you ever need to is what’s important.
I challenge you to find a second today to flip something that you’re used to mindlessly doing and do it all wrong on purpose. Focus and do it wrong. Then, think about what’s wrong and go back to how it’s supposed to be done. Rediscover the mindfulness in that motion, that action, or that activity as you did so long ago for the first time.
It’s a good exercise. But, just…you know…don’t die while doing it. Pro tip.
#bewhatyoumake
