
I read about a study done by a New York City cab company to determine how aggressiveness impacts travel time.
Two cabs drove from the south end of Manhattan to the north. One was told to drive like a maniac, push ever yellow light, swerve between lanes and honk a shitload.
The other was told to follow all traffic laws, go with the flow, stay in their lane and let people in front.
The gun went off and, surprise-surprise, the aggressive driver arrived first …
… by five minutes.
Five minutes.
We all want to get to where we think we want to go as fast as possible. But come on, folks, five minutes! It’s the journey that’s filled with serendipity and mystery. Within the journey, is the space for joy, curiosity, gentleness and love. And if you happen to stumble upon total enlightenment, well, it’s time to start all over again. Always growing, always a beginner.
And if there’s no destination, there can’t be a race.
And even if there was a race, the finish line is death so why the hell are you in such a hurry to get there?
I imagine the slower driver (by five minutes, mind you) probably enjoyed his trip. You can feel the curiosity in going slow. By taking his time, he might have seen his future wife out of the corner of his eye, smelled honeysuckle wafting through his open window, embracing the sensation that the island of Manhattan coming to him like a movie. Here is the space for intuition and inner wisdom to kick in. It’s really hard to access this stuff while gunning the engine and glaring at stubborn red lights.
The fast driver had fleeing energy — Let’s get the hell out of here! Or fighting energy — Let’s get the hell over there! Can you feel the adrenaline in that? The stress? The belief that where he was “bad” and where he’s going is “good”. No space for the magic.
When the slower driver arrived, I’m sure he texted the woman (btw, he stopped and got her phone number), had an ah-ha moment about a new business idea, and enjoyed basking in the beautiful brightness of the universe. You can imagine what the aggressive driver experienced. Exactly…he stared into the gaping, chaotic maw of the hell complete with judgment, resentment and regret. (Do I exaggerate? Maybe, maybe not.)
When you learn through joy, you retain so much more and are eager to learn even more. If you learn through pain, well, the whole thing is a drag and you’ll want to bury yourself in a sub-Reddit about birds with arms.
So read your next self-help book one chapter of time. Feel it, be curious about it, let it flow through you. Same with a new youtube video. Feel it in your body. Feel your mind trying to grasp and remember. Then let that go. Then keep driving.
Stop kicking your ass for not being enlightened, for not being a seducer, for not being wealthy, for not being there! Accept where you are. Appreciate what you have. Then keep driving.
If you want to talk to women, start with asking just one what time it is. Then keep driving.
Don’t pay all our bills at once. (Impossible to do anyway.) Pay one at a time. Then keep driving.
Overnight success doesn’t happen overnight. That’s just when it bursts into reality.
And it can happen faster than you think.
Just keep driving.
