Driving You Insane:
How is Your Brain Steering You Away from Your Focus?

Michael Moody, Chicago Fitness Training

In our busy lives, we are constantly pulled in every direction: Drive the kids to school, email your boss, cook etc. In our daily tornado of responsibilities, it’s amazing how we can focus on one thing. If our goal is to live most efficiently (or less stressed), we must examine our thinking patterns. Are we distracting ourselves from achieving our goals? Are we allowing destructive mindsets to pull mental energy away from our focus? As described below, driving in Chicago tends to lead me towards more destructive, aggressive paths. Can you relate to this?

I drive south on Sheridan-weaving between lanes. I avoid red lights by speeding through yellow lit intersections. My car darts side to side like the video game Frogger-trying to beat the next light. Eventually, I’m stuck behind a city bus (Never fails!). I try to pull into the left lane. Meanwhile, the Nissan Altima in the lane speeds up anticipating my next move. Stuck…luckily not struck.

The temperature of my head raises a 100 degrees and I scream out hot air obscenities that only echo back at me in a car of closed windows. My quick maneuver is halted by a line of speeding cars while I inhale bus fumes waiting…and waiting.

Eventually, I move again but I can’t stop thinking about the Nissan. I drive in rage hoping to find him. I head south on Lake Shore Drive with my eyes piercing across 4 lanes-looking for my foe. All I want to do is cut him off. I want him to feel my anger.

Do you experience the same stress daily in your commute? Just imagine if all drivers feel this same rage…at the same time. The road becomes a battlefield. Unfortunately, this stress is too common. I am a victim (or the culprit) and I’m sure you have been too. Although I’ve seen this when driving, I also see the same behavior elsewhere daily: in Whole Foods, in an office, in the gym...it seems like everywhere.

At what point, does this type of thinking leash you? When does it restrict you from taking the steps to lose weight? When does it restrict you from focusing on a project at work? When does it affect your relationship with your spouse?

The bad and worst things in life never seem to disappear. Most days someone will cut you off while driving, a lazy coworker will not complete his end of a project, or the workday never seems to end (another 10 hour day). Can you simply ignore these things? Can you smile through everything?

Most likely not. At least, I don’t think so. Eventually, your bottled up feelings will explode. Nevertheless, you may waste too much mental energy on things least important. Most of the time, these are things you can’t change anyway.

In my case, the Nissan is a jerk for speeding. On the other hand, I am in a rush every time I leave for work and there is a lot of traffic on Sheridan Road. Although I can’t control what other people are doing, I can recognize the situation (a person cutting me off) and try to avoid it again (leave earlier or take another street) instead of obsessing over it.

What can you do to change the things in your life instead of stressing over it? I challenge you to count the number of times you complain or have destructive thoughts per day. Try it for 2 days (or more). You might realize how these thoughts consume you.

You can’t fully reach your personal goals and live happily without recognizing these self-destructive thoughts and finding constructive ways to deal with them. The first step is realizing this. Now see how your thinking is holding you back from focusing on things most important.