Worry and Panic: The Sirens that Lead to Shipwreck

This week I got lost while driving in Mexico. We were in Tijuana and trying to get back to the border and somehow I took a wrong turn into a very peligroso (dangerous) looking part of town. Street signs didn’t exist nor did actual streets in some places. We were down to our last eighth of a tank of gas and making right turns that led to nowhere for at least a half hour and soon I would be writing this blog to ask for my ransom money.

We had to get back to the U.S. and panic and worry were not going to get us there. There was a solution to this problem (there always is). 

• Keep driving, looking for ways to stay parallel to the highway
• Keep on the lookout for a gas station
• Find a friendlier part of town to ask for directions
• Turn international roaming back on to my smartphone (Google Maps)
• Put my glasses on to read the few street signs that existed
• Learn the ways of the Los Zetas cartel and join them as one of their own (kidding)

It’s funny because in hindsight, these options all look to be relatively simple and easy conclusions. But if I allowed panic and worry to set in, phrases like “We’ll never get out of here,” “We’re going to run out of gas,” and “I’m never going to make it to my thirtieth birthday;” would have entered into my conscious and I would have been right. But those thoughts aren’t solutions, they’re sirens setting a course for shipwreck.

Whether you’re stuck in a dead-end job, a business that’s going nowhere, a stale relationship; there’s always a solution. The outcome might not be as imminent as the need to escape a dangerous neighborhood but every second we spend worrying or in panic mode over something we dislike about our lives—we’re spending time in a dangerous neighborhood which isn’t always ugly. That neighborhood may have the sirens of panic and worry living in it; singing to us about financial security, fame, or comfort—which might not be what you really want or need.

There’s always a solution...and you are a big part of it.

(PS. we found our way out of Tijuana just fine, thanks for your concern)