Grab the wheel – not the hood ornament

In my talks about balance (I have a few that are specific to balance and one is called “Balance Through Transition) I talk about “grabbing the wheel.” What I mean by that metaphor is that sometimes we go through changes that we don’t seem to have control over. I tell people to “grab the wheel” not just as a way to wrestle control from fate, the heavens, circumstance or what have you, but as a way to at least “feel” in control. Like a bus that’s on autopilot: you sit in the driver’s seat and as far as anyone else knows you are in control and managing the best you can. After a while in many circumstances you do indeed get control – the wheel starts to move.

Have there been times in your life that you found the autopilot wheel actually allowed you to grab it and start steering?

Where there even cases in which that was ALL you had to do – touch the wheel?

Well, this podcast is not about grabbing the wheel but about those that go a little too far and grab the hood ornament.

Remember when Indiana Jones was forcibly thrown through a truck window and then held on for dear life? Some people do that but instead of being thrown through the window they jump through it, completely ignoring the big wheel that actually steers the truck.

If your life takes a turn that seems out of control I would suggest you assess, think, meditate, consider and then grab the wheel – even if it doesn’t budge.

What I don’t want you to do is jump through the window and grab the hood ornament.

Being in control – even faking it – is far more healthy than jumping onto the hood (metaphorically) and trying to get control. You’ve probably done this. it felt like an all-or-nothing immersion into fixing a problem. A crisis, a panic.

Some people approach change this way. Some people are forced to.

Try not to get to that point. Try the wheel first, see if it moves. Go from there.

Listen to the podcast for examples.