The night before a major snow storm was forecast to arrive, I noticed that my gas gauge was just above empty. A little voice in my head prodded me, “Go get your tank filled now.” I thought about it, then decided that I was doing other things and that I could get it filled in the morning when I would be out and about again. For now, I was just going to go home, turn on the fireplace, be snug and prepare supper.
The next morning, my plans changed … it doesn’t matter why, they just did. No big deal! There was still plenty of time before the storm arrived for me to go run the errands I had scheduled for the day. I waited until after lunch and my first stop was the gas station. There were lines of cars … drivers like me who wanted to get their tanks filled before the blizzard… drivers like me who had waited until almost the last minute. I finally spotted an available gas pump and as I was backing in, a guy came out of the station and shook his finger at me. I assumed (guilty conscience?) he thought I had cut in line or was taking someone else’s turn … I rolled down my window and he said, “No gas!”
“You’re kidding!” I said.
“Nope … they just ran out of gas!”
“Unbelievable!” My mind raced back to the days of the 70’s when there were serious gas shortages. I panicked! What if all the stations are running out of gas … what if I can’t get gas anywhere … what if … what if???
Then I caught myself. Yes, what if…. The “worst case scenario” would be that I’d have to stay close to home for a while… until after the blizzard and then I’d just have to wait in line at some station somewhere until it was my turn. That was it!
There are a couple of kinds of voices in our head. There are quiet soft voices that come from our Inner Magnificence. Then there are the loud panicky voices that are rooted in all our fears and insecurities…magnified.
We all have those voices in our heads. Some of them are more like little nudges … “Go ahead and fill up now.” I’ve never regretted listening to those voices.
Then there are the other voices … the ones that turn small events into catastrophes … the voices that say something like, “if this station doesn’t have any more gas, then probably no stations have any more gas … then probably I won’t be able to get to the grocery store … and if I never can get to the store …. well… I’ll starve to death, leaving the legacy of a car with an empty tank!” I’ve pretty much always regretted getting caught up in the drama created by those voices.
So, here’s my invitation: the next time you hear voices in your head …tune into the soft ones … and tune out the panicky ones.
To the extent you do, you’ll find yourself saying, “I feel good about being me!”
I promise!
