Kickin’ in the front seat
Sittin’ in the back seat
Gotta make my mind up
Which seat can I take?
Some of you may have heard the infamous Rebecca Black song online, on youtube or in the news; some of you may have heard the GLEE cast version of it; and some of you may have never heard the song at all. But that’s okay, read on and you’ll see where I’m going with this.
As I was singing along, tapping my fingers on the steering wheel, those particular lyrics struck a chord with me. “Sittin’ in the back seat, gotta make mind up, which seat can I take…” It made think of recent conversations I’ve had with some acquaintances. I am often amazed at how many people let their lives pass them by. Wishing, hoping, struggling, suffering…they let their life happen all around them, but they don’t take an active role in it. Sure, I suppose we all do that at some point or another. But as many things as there are that are out of our control, there are twice that many that are within our control. Be present in your life. Be present in your decision making. Don’t let others force their values, stress, anger or opinions on you. You can choose how to live your life. You can choose happiness over dreariness. You can choose healthy living, over destructive living.
Too many people complain about stuff happening to them, instead of trying to work to make a less-than-optimum circumstance turn around in their favor. Yes, bad things happen. How we react to them and deal with them is completely up to us. Are we going to sit in the back seat of our own lives, blaming others for our own circumstances? Or are we going to sit in the front seat and take control and responsibility for living the kind of life we want to have?
I will be the first to admit that this is sometimes really, really scary. Pushing ourselves out of our comfort zone, or dealing with new circumstances can be very intimidating. But, taking control of the car we are driving instead of being a back-seat passenger can lead to some pretty amazing outcomes, and some even better revelations about ourselves. As we come to the end of 2011 and make our new years resolutions, think about what life journeys you might be currently on, or are about to embark on.
I read somewhere that a journey begins by taking the first step. Recently, I pondered this question with my older brother. (He’s the one who only has Unbirthdays now…don’t ask.) You see, I’m on a bit of a journey myself right now. He then added something that I think is most profound. He said, “What most people forget, is that in order for the journey to continue, you have to keep taking steps. And some of those steps are really going to suck.”
I agreed. Some of the steps in this journey really do suck. I’m afraid of the unknown. I’m afraid of failure. I’m afraid of about a hundred other things that could potentially slow or stop my journey all together. The tough part is putting that foot forward and taking another step…hoping for a less-sucky step to follow. Yes, it may be hard. Yes, you might want to sit in the back seat for a while. But how we live our lives is ultimately up to us. I heard someone once say, “Courage is the ability to keep moving forward, even though you are afraid.”
Some of the steps we take are going to suck. Some are not. It’s your choice whether or not you want to control where you go, or whether you let someone else drive you around.
Are you going to put your foot out and take that potentially sucky step? There might be a really good one just waiting for you around the corner, but you’ll never know if you don’t keep moving forward. Here's my suggestion: try heading into 2012 with a new song and a new word in your head: Courage.