Okay. I know this photo has nothing to do with speed bumps. I just like its implication for things we miss when moving too fast.
You have a dream – to start a business, save a relationship, get healthy. You’ve set the goal and mapped it out. You’ve put in the effort. The time. The money. Cruising down the road, you can see your dream destination up ahead so you push down on the accelerator and pick up speed. Windows rolled down. Radio turned up. Wind is blowing through your hair and you’re singing to your favorite, “gonna make it happen now” song when all of a sudden – BAM! Speed bump. Your head hits the roof and the only stars you’re seeing are within a nine-inch radius of your forehead.
Damn. Where did that come from? You gather yourself – and the map that slid off the seat – double check your directions and continue down the road. (Vision a little less clear for the stars.) Hmmm. Are those storm clouds up ahead and a wall of rain heading your way? You roll the window up tight, turn down a side street hoping to find a route around the threatening weather, and lean into the steering wheel with determination as raindrops hit the windshield. You start humming your, “gonna make it happen NOW I can beat this” song when SLIP-SPIN-BAM! Another speed bump? You can’t believe you hit another speed bump. Where the heck are you?
On the road – and in pursuit of dreams – speed bumps do serve a purpose. Pause to consider when you find one – or two or three or four or more – on the way to your dream that they are placed where they are so you WILL slow down. (I have a lot of experience with speed bumps, that’s how I know.)
So, slow down and look around. Take in the sites of the neighborhood. It’s YOUR neighborhood. What do you need to see that you would miss at higher speeds? Maybe it’s a timing thing. A muscle-building thing. A do this in a balanced way so you can enjoy it when you get there thing. A someone needs to meet you first thing. Whatever thing it is, spinning your wheels on a speed bump is not going to get you there any faster.
No need to panic when you come to a speed bump. It’s not a roadblock. Just approach slowly, breathe and bounce. Breathe and bounce – and open to the view. You never know what you might discover!
As ‘coincidence’ would have it, I stalled over a speed bump a week after posting this! I am taking in the view and am a grateful for what I see. Pulling my map back out and re-ordering my intinerary. This could be fun. How about you?
Reminds me of the “brick wall”. We can back up and charge it over and over again or we can just back up and go around it. When you are preoccupied with getting through “it” and focusing on “it” you miss everthing else. Who or what is your brick wall? How can you refocus to take in your surroundings instead of the obstacle? This question is for me. But I will share it.
Gail Marie uses the word “refocus” and I think that is what the speedbump requires us to do. I am reminded of the picture that is used at many workshops. You know the one that if you look at it one way, you see a pretty young girl. Continue to stare at this same photo, and you see the ugly old lady.You are seeing the same picture, just two very different perspectives. I believe that the speed bumps cause us to check our perspective and see what we may not be seeing–a shift to a new perspective of the same goal, idea, or situation. Speedbumps give us an opportunity to see the picture again. For some, they see the BIG picture. For others, it is just a few new details that may have been overlooked. Speedbumps are going to happen. How we respond to them is critical. What is your perspective? Do you see the old ugly lady or the pretty young girl?
“For some, they see the BIG picture. For others, it is just a few new details that may have been overlooked.”
Well put, Maggie! Seen this way, speed bumps CAN be our friends.