What's it all about then?

The idea came to me many years ago whilst sitting in very heavy traffic on some nondescript motorway heading North.  I sat there tapping my fingers on the steering wheel  thinking about nothing in particular when I was startled by the sound of a blaring horn coming from behind me. I looked into the rear view mirror and was astonished to see the driver, his face purple screaming at 'nothing in particular'. Boy was he angry and as I looked around many of the other drivers seemed to be in that very same state.  We weren't going anywhere that was for sure so why the anger and the stress? They may have been driving their cars but who or what was driving them? 

It was obvious that they were being driven by their emotions. Their perception of the situation was  creating a state that was far from healthy. 'Hell' I thought...'stress kills!'

I consider myself  as someone who does drive his own car, if I can use that as a metaphor; and I am not the first person to use the metaphor of driving and roads to create healthy change in people. 

"Life's Highway"

"A road less Travelled"

"Who's driving your bus?"

Metaphors are powerful because they create change and here were a group of people desperately in need of change.

That's when I thought about The Highway Code as a metaphor. Let's think about it....

When we learn to drive we develop new skills and face new challenges. Not just the physical skills of driving the car but understanding the rules of the road. These rules teach us how to recognise signs and read the road ahead. If we understand them and follow them we can more or less get around safely and not break any laws. 

This led me to a conclusion that maybe we need a manual/handbook that will help us deal with road conditions and situations. A Manual that  puts us in charge of our brains and our perceptions of the challenges that face us emotionally whilst being in charge of a large metal box that can travel upwards of 70 mies per hour. That would be cool!

Then I thought:

"The Higherway Code"

No, not because it will get you high (I guess it could though)!

No, because it will create a higher state of awareness. Increased awareness of not just the road but how your state is being managed or not. 

By observing our state we can then make the changes necessary to create a positive state and understand what 'triggers' negative states such as anger and frustration.

So that is what this blog is about then. 

Over the next few weeks we will discover how to create useful emotional states that will make us safer on the roads and more balanced generally.

Until the next time...Healthy Driving!