Clinging to the Left Lane

You’re driving down an interstate and you are in a state where you need to be on the right unless you have to pass. You move over, to pass someone, and then move back. Easy, smooth, and common sense. Why common sense? Because it allows the traffic to flow when others want to go faster. What does this have to do with clinging to the left lane, and better yet, what does it have with being stuck in life?

Why Cling to the Left Lane?

Let me start with one of those “ah ha” insights. I drive down a particular stretch of highway 25 that goes from three lanes to two. It has partial construction, but the section I’m talking about doesn’t have anything else going on. Driving down the road last night, I was in the far right lane. Just where I should be as I wasn’t passing anyone. Suddenly, the far two left lanes started slowing down. No my lane. They slowed down and finally stopped. My lane? No issues. Nothing. I soared past them, until the merge point, and then it was a lot smoother.

I thought to myself, why do people cling to the left lane, come hell or high water?

The “if they justs” started coming to me. If they just followed the general rules of the road, this wouldn’t feel this way. It was indicative, to me, of clinging to old ideas. Many of these drivers probably came from crowded, traffic-mired highways, where all lanes were woefully inadequate, or worse, they were used to being in the left lane to pass everyone at ungodly speeds.

What Does Habit Have to Do With It?

Truth is, they may just be the victims of habit. They move into that lane without thinking about it. They do it out of habit because wherever they are from, they are used to the idea that the left lane will get them moving and fast.

Habit stops all of us from raising our heads up and looking around. It’s comfortable, it’s familiar, and it worked in the past. Why not now? We think that relief is just around the corner, or if I hang on long enough, we’ll get free. What we fail to see is that conditions around us change, there may be other opportunities, other options. We feel trapped in the lane, unable to move for fear of being hit, losing face, or even missing out.

Don’t like being stuck? What’s the solution? Once you find yourself in a lane that has suddenly stopped, look around for other options. How can you get out of that lane and find a path forward? You don’t have to leap all at once (that’s a topic for another article…,) but as long as you lift up your head and look around, you’ll see what options you have.

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Want to get unstuck? Check out my free guide, “What Does it Take to Get Unstuck?” which you can find here. Want to know more about how to get unstuck easier, check out my coaching, here. Raising your head is the first step. Finding someone to guide you in the journey is next. Have a great day! If you’d like to talk through your challenges, schedule a free Clarity Session with me and we’ll get you on the path to the right lane.