Confessions from the Passenger’s Seat
I know I’m not the first to say that the last couple of years have been a doozy. The global collective has been through (pardon my language) Hell and back with COVID-19, war, unrest, and it seems that every day we have but to scroll through social media to discover the latest scandal. It’s been absolutely exhausting and I have seen friends, family, and even myself fall prey to the great beast Burnout. And whether you’re five miles deep in a Doom Scroll or just trying to comfort yourself by binging your favorite TV show for the millionth time (mine is the Great British Baking Show), you can sometimes feel like you’re spinning out of control and losing yourself.
Welcome to the Passenger’s Seat. I call it the Passenger’s Seat because while you are hurdling in some kind of direction, you don’t really have the power to steer your course one way or another. You’re at the mercy of whoever (or whatever) is in the Driver’s Seat. And I’ve been in the Passenger’s Seat quite a few times in the last couple of years. One such time was when I was working my job during the early stages of the pandemic. I was so stuck in my own schedule that I was rapidly losing track of the days and weeks as they just flew by. The world was just blurring by like the scenery outside a car window as something else drove us to its destination. The main thing I’ve learned about the Passenger’s Seat is that it is stagnant. I spent my days in the Passenger’s Seat for a good number of months, just letting life pass me by as if I had absolutely no agency.
But then I woke up. And after months of being miserable, I finally actually recognized that I was miserable. I’ve never been one to turn down a project, so I began to search for ways to stop being miserable and get me out of the Passenger’s Seat. I got into therapy, which was a great start. But that was just the beginning. I shifted from sitting in the Passenger’s Seat to getting behind the wheel. I began to set goals for myself, like completing a coaching course, starting my business to build my dream job, and spending more time connecting with friends and family to get me out of isolation. And, let me tell you, I absolutely love being in the Driver’s Seat of my own life.
Something I’ve learned from my studies in coaching is that being in the Driver’s Seat can be trying sometimes. After all, it can be tough to stay on your course on a long road trip if you don’t have someone else in the car to talk to and get you hyped up about your destination. You need someone to remind you of the GPS instructions if you need to navigate bad traffic or road blocks. You need someone to look ahead on the map and find a rest stop so you can pee. In short, being in the Driver’s Seat is much easier when you have someone else in the car with you.
And that’s why I am passionate about being a life coach. I get to help my clients stay on track and reach the destination of their dreams. I get to see them transition out of the Passenger’s Seat and claim the power over their lives that they rightfully deserve to take. Everyone should be in control of their own direction in life. Everyone deserves to take that steering wheel and point it towards their hopes, dreams, and goals. Everyone, including you. Because life goes by too fast to just observe it out of the Passenger’s Seat window.