The Break Pad, My Driving Lessons and Self Discipline.

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Recently, I had to travel to Ibadan for a wedding ceremony of a dear sister. I got to Iyanapaja park around noon and was quite happy I was able to meet the bus before it filled up.

I love traveling but not when I’m sitting at the edge close to the door without a back rest most times. Those seats cause body pains and you’d wonder if you’re really taking a ride or serving some form of punishment. (Let’s not even talk about the state of some Lagos-Ibadan buses lol.)

I was the last to hop in before the bus moved. Every passenger entered enjoying the journey till we got to the Lagos-Ibadan Express way and noticed how the driver was overtaking vehicles and driving recklessly. I brought out the book I planned to read(can you guess what genre?) when we got to Agege and began.

Initially, we all thought the driver was just trying to beat traffic in that area by speeding up but we were wrong. The entire seat in the front row where I sat was loose, the bolts were off.

As he cut corners through the bumpy lanes to the right, we literally followed the bus to whatever direction it went but that didn’t stop me from soaking in all truths, goodness and depths contained in the book I was reading. I wasn’t going to be disturbed!

It was when the driver got angry at us for complaining about his reckless driving, I knew we were in for it. He told us, to our amazement that we weren’t sitting down well. Something was wrong!

“Only God could take us to our destination in good shape!”, I thought.
Oh did I tell you I was asked not to lean on the door(good safety precaution anyway) as it could fall off? lol. What reason!

NOTHING SEEMED GOOD!

The break wasn’t good either. The wire connecting it to the other parts of the vehicle was naked and visible. I kept wondering how they allowed us move with such bus in the first place. One can even deal with a poorly maintained vehicle at least! But an ill-mannered driver driving the same one? Double wahala for living bodies!

I had the opportunity to learn how to drive sometimes in 2017 and knew the basics of the skill. To perfect the my driving skill and practice more, I started driving lessons with my mom recently and during one of our evenings together, I was pressing too hard on the accelerator.

On getting to an obstacle, I would give the break pad a quick hold bringing it to an abrupt end. The screeching sounds made my mom raise her voice a bit lol. Firing hard on the accelerator sure triggered noise and made my sister in the vehicle unsettled. Mom would sometimes shrug.

She would ask me to go gently on the pedals, reminding me not to go so hard. Repeating the steps all over, “Hold on to the break while you change the gear to D, Drive. Release the break as you touch the accelerator a bit to give the vehicle a start…” She’d repeat that over and again. Mom is sure the best teacher I know. She teaches you passionately yet with patience and grit.

Feels like I’m even gleaning more lessons from the journey as I write about it. You might ask how all these are connected to self discipline? Great question.

Follow closely…

The break pad is an essential component in any vehicle. I wonder what good vehicles would be if manufacturers didn’t include the break mechanism. Something to control your speed and stop you when you encounter a hurdle. Knowing when to do what is right and when not to is key while driving. Even self driving cars have mechanisms(e.g sensors) to bring them to a halt when there’s danger ahead.

The above series of events in recent times reminded me of our day to day activities down to our faith walk. Many are like the driver in the journey. Many people have not harnessed the potentials and abilities that spring up from a self disciplined life.

What I Learnt About the Right Routines

A lot of us anticipate success or successful lives but somehow we think our old habits of procrastination would magically transform into one. I’ve been there and I know how it feels when you plan to do things within your control but you don’t because you’re afraid so you give lots of excuses.

Not because you cannot but somehow you haven’t learnt what it means to just do it or you just haven’t caught the big picture yet.

(I know, I can relate too)

Or like some might still think; it is up to God to set our lives straight without us doing anything. Others think “a lot of people are doing what God is asking me to do. I don’t know what people might say about me.”

The truth is that our ability to know when and how to use the breaks in our cars will determine how far we go in our journey. You didn’t catch that?

I’d rephrase

Knowing when and how to apply the breaks (achieve your goals or complete a task) and actually doing them will determine how far you would go in life. Yes! You determine that!

That is what is termed Self discipline.

The wisdom to know when to stop and also pick up a habit makes all the difference. It’s not giving excuses but taking sole responsibility for every of your action no matter how tough and weird it might sound.

It’s like owning your story; the good, the bad and the ugly. Understanding that your ability to grow is dependent on such attitude.

Not giving excuses makes you not just admit you’re wrong but also admitting and willing to bear the consequences for your actions. That is the one way to improve and become not just a better person but better at carrying out your goals as well.

Like Paul puts it;

“All athletes are disciplined in their training. They do it to win a prize that will fade away, but we do it for an eternal prize.

So I run with purpose in every step. I am not just shadowboxing. I discipline my body like an athlete, TRAINING IT TO DO WHAT IT SHOULD. Otherwise, I fear that after preaching to others I myself might be disqualified.”

1 Corinthians 9:25‭-‬27 NLT

Training it to do what it should!!

“…I’m giving it everything I’ve got. NO SLOPPY LIVING FOR ME! I’M STAYING ALERT AND IN TOP CONDITION. I’m not going to get caught napping, telling everyone else all about it and then missing out myself.”

1 Corinthians 9:26‭-‬27 MSG

No careless living! A life that is full of giving excuses rather than admitting wrong is a careless one.

Here’s the implication: when you give an excuse, your brain adapts to giving room for your inadequacies rather than facing and addressing it. You realise that it keeps you powerless and takes away your ability to be in control of your life.

You have control over your life! Take charge! It’s your responsibility!

Do you still give excuses? What will you do after knowing all these?

Share your thoughts in the comment section.

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