What I learnt from my driving lessons

I have recently been learning how to drive. At the beginning, I simply wanted to learn a new skill, so that I can drive my family and friends around. throughout the learning process – however – I have learnt that driving is really not as simple as I look. I realised that a lot of multi-tasking is actually required when driving, and I am now very impressed with anyone who can drive consistently with a safe and secured manner.

More important for me during this process is that I have actually learnt a few things that can be applied to life more generally:

• You can’t drive well if you are just focusing on what’s in front of you: as a beginning driver, my natural instinct is to focused on the car in front of me, the traffic light in front of me, the right turn ahead of me, as well as the giant truck that is approaching me. However, my instructor gave me an important lesson: I should be looking as far as I can. That actually makes me aim better, drive better, and stay more stable in the middle of the driving lane. That lesson can be applied to life too: you won’t succeed by being too short sighted; rarely do short-sighted people become very wealthy. Quite the opposite, be clear of the long term goal and the bigger picture while executing consistently with what’s right in front of you. Repeat that many time, then your life will be much more fruitful.
• Look out for others around you: another thing I don’t do well as a beginning driver is I am not looking enough at the rearview-mirror / sideview-mirrors. Looking more often at these mirrors allow me to become aware of what is happening around me — am I steering too close to the adjacent driving lane? Is a faster moving vehicle popping up from behind? Becoming more aware of what is happening around me allows me better navigate the environment in a more efficient and safe manner, while also protecting others around me. I realised that the same is true in life — while it is important be focused when we are doing our deep work, we should also be aware of our surroundings through different lens & tools: how is the environment changing? Is there a better way for us to better navigate our career as well as personal development? Are we making sure our loved one are getting the love they deserve? All these are important things to bear in mind, and looking out for other around us more often will help us to do these things better.
• You should imagine you are “sitting” in the middle of the driving lane: these tip might be more relevant to driving than to life as a whole. However, staying secured in the middle of the driving lane is as important in driving as in life in general. In life: once we find the general direction we want to be heading (ie. our driving lane), we should make sure we stay in the middle within the driving lane and not be deviating / distracted.

I am glad that I have chosen to learn how to drive, and I hope I can pass my driving exam!