Don’t Let Traffic Drive You Crazy

By Career Strategies Investigator, Jerilyn Willin

You are at a standstill on the expressway. Is it an accident? A buckle in the pavement. Construction? Whatever it is, you are burning $3.00+ a gallon gas and you’re getting nowhere fast. Helpless? Hopeless? Aggravating? You bet. And for some of us, the commute is a daily grind.

What can you do? Manage that forced downtime to your advantage. Instead of stressing, reframe your thought and look at this time as a gift. A gift of down time you may not ordinarily give yourself.

Cell phones have taken some of the stress out of being caught in traffic. While at a standstill (and please use only a hands-free and voice activated system!) you can:

1.) Let your appointment know you’ll be late. The sooner you do this, the less stress you’ll feel. In my experience, as soon as I call, the traffic magically opens up.

2.) Catch up on personal phone calls. We all have those people we remember at midnight we want to touch base with. Keep those phone numbers in your hands free, voice activated phone. Give Aunt Mary a call just to say ‘Hi”. You’ll feel better and so will she.

Do you lament you never have time to read a book for pleasure? Traffic allows you to do just that. Not read, but listen. Enjoying a good book on CD makes burning $3.00+/gallon gas less stressful.

Or blow it off. What? Use the calming belly-breathing techniques of yoga to clear your mind and relax you.

Finally, there is the option of turning off the music/book/technology altogether and simply letting your mind quiet. Who knows what may surface? All sorts of interesting thoughts have come across my radar during “rush” hour.  So don’t stew…relax. Time in your car may be a gift.

Read more by Jerilyn on Eve.

Image courtesy of feel art / FreeDigitalPhotos.net