Horray, I passed my driving test last week and got my driving licence. It had taken me almost a year of practical lessons to finally finish all the required lessons before I was able to go for the test. I was overjoyed that I passed the test on my first attempt and didn’t get many points deducted during the test. As I had enjoyed learning how to drive, and my instructors were helpful and friendly, it was a pleasant experience. I had also intentionally spread out the lessons, so that the learning period would be longer. This is because my family doesn’t own a car, so it would be more difficult for me to practice driving after finishing all my lessons.
Driving your life
Driving has taught me more than the skill of handling a motor vehicle. Driving taught me to look far ahead instead of just focusing on the situation in front and to make quick decisions. Beginners have a tendency to concentrate on just the car in front and not scan the surrounding. We are supposed to look about 12 seconds ahead to assess the traffic situation and see if there are any hazards. We also need to react quickly to traffic situations. My reaction was on the slow side when I started to learn to drive. Through constant practices, I have improved my reaction time and decision-making skills as we need to make decisions in the split-second when driving. All these require not only skills but practice.
Look far ahead and be decisive
All these skills that I learnt from driving can be applied in life. In life, we have to think of the longer term and look far ahead. When my instructor told me to look far ahead at the traffic situation, I reminded myself that I should consider where my life would be moving towards in the distance future instead of just focusing on what I can see now. At times, we might be too absorbed in the current situation that we fail to see where we are heading to. Are we charging towards a hazard that we are not aware of because we have been too absorbed by what is happening in front of us?
We also need to be decisive once we have all the necessary information instead of deliberating on something. If a decision can be made, it should be made. If we need more information or guidance before making a decision, we should act accordingly. I feel it’s of no benefits to keep pondering on something without acting as there is a tendency for what we are constantly thinking about to move from the contemplation state to the worry state.
