When I first learned to drive, I had a \”near-miss\” incident at a roundabout that terrified me. I was alone in my car on a Saturday morning. When I got to the roundabout, I did the usual and stopped to give way to traffic from my right. When the road was sufficiently clear, I moved my car into first gear (or so I thought) and moved. To my utmost dismay and horror, the car rolled to the middle of the road and stopped. Smack in the middle of the roundabout. I do not think I have ever been as terrified as that morning. Cars were coming into the roundabout from my right, and I was sure someone would run into me. I tried to start the car, but it kept stalling. I was this close to crying, and then I looked out my window. To my right, the oncoming cars had stopped to allow me to try and move, and this old lady just smiled at me from her car. Her smile said 100 things; it said, it\’s okay, I understand, you can do it.
Somehow, I got the car moving and got home (honestly, I cannot remember how). After that incident, I could not bring myself to drive again. Everyone tried to explain to me that it happens, sometimes you think you\’re in gear, but you\’re not, etc., but I couldn\’t do it.
Sometimes, it isn\’t easy to pick yourself up again after a rough life patch. It is difficult to think, even for a second, that your situation might change.
I am tempted to say the usual, \”Hang in there\”, \”have a little faith\”, \”dare to dream\”, \”things will get better\”, etc. However, when you\’re in that spot, those words don\’t really help. They sound like words, the same way everyone\’s advice seemed like empty words to me after my roundabout incident. So here is what I will say instead. It\’s okay to give yourself permission to dream again. You don\’t have to start big; you can start with something small. The first step is giving yourself permission and then giving yourself all the time you need to get back to where you used to be. It might take a minute or two, but you will get back to where you used to be; all you need to do is take that tiny baby step in the right direction.