Driving at high speeds
When I was younger I used to drive at really high speeds. I’m sure everyone’s gone through that. Going over 200km/h on the highways was not unusual for me. Even on normal streets where the speed limit was 50-60km/h, driving over 120 km/h was also quite usual for me.
Those times have passed and I have calmed down except for sudden bursts on the highway every once in a while.
One thing I learned while driving at really high speeds is the concentration it required. I was totally concentrating on driving and I was in the “zone” as it’s called.
I was totally concentrating on driving and could not afford to think about anything else. And because of that my driving was much better!
My mind was racing at such high speed as well and making decisions with lightning speed. My reflexes were much faster and I was going through traffic with incredible calm. I was driving much better and much safer than I do when I drive at normal speed limits.
That is the same thing with setting goals. If we set small and miniscule goals, our concentration is all over the place. We work on our goals for a minutes here and there and work on some other stuff and watch tv and chit chat with friends and so on. Before we know it, the whole day’s gone by and we complain about not having enough time.
When we set huuuuuge and scary goals for ourselves and totally commit to achieving them, we do not have time to think about anything else, nor do we have time to just hang out or engage in idle chit chat.
And once we enter that total concentration zone that’s when magic begins to happen. We start achieving incredible results. Things we never thought we could do before, we start doing easily and we seem to accomplish all of this in the same amount of time.
Now please do not go out there trying this experiment of driving at high speeds. It’s incredibly foolish and a stupid thing to do. You may easily hurt yourself or someone else so do not engage in that.
If you do want to drive at fast speeds then go to a track and do it. There are a lot of tracks where you can take your car for a day for a small fee and drive however you feel like driving but just don’t do it on normal roads!
But do try and set goals that require you to stretch beyond your comfort zone! Think about what it is that you want and totally commit yourself to it. Just test it out! It doesn’t have to be anything extraordinary, just something that might require your total concentration. Do that and see how it feels!
“Aim at the sun and you may not reach it; but your arrow will fly far higher than if you had aimed at an object on a level with yourself.” – F. Hawes
Related posts:
- Self-Discipline – the missing link
- If you can do this, you can achieve anything that you want
- Trip to India – my impressions Part 2
- Gossiping quotes
- After the caffeine withdrawal symptoms disappeared
- Examples of how to build Self-Discipline
- Caffeine withdrawal symptoms
- Focus on one thing at a time
- How to build Self-Discipline
- Why is there a lack of Self-Discipline?
Tags: commitment, concentration, Goals
August 28th, 2009 at 7:34 am
Could it be that all this strikes right into the human psyche?
I once heard land speed record holder Richard Noble say at 650 miles an hour he could see every stone on the track ahead.
But I suspect it comes down to the unused potential of the mind again but also the drugs the body produces. When we are doing something urgent – or even life threatening – the old adrenalin kicks in. This gives us a buzz at the time and sharpens up our awareness. Then, when we complete the task the body dumps further drugs (and, not being an expert, I forget the names) to give us feelings of exhilaration.
This is what makes people take up extreme sports. Examples? Have you ever asked out that girl you fancied or faced up to a bully or, in your driving example, driven far too fast and got away with it? What happens after? Your knees give way and for a few seconds you can hardly speak as the drugs hit your brain. Watch the faces of athletes and footballers when they win that gold medal or score the winning goal: that is the effect of those drugs too.
So stretch yourself, take the risk and go for those goals. Your body will love you for it, it will give you the energy (and concentration) you need when you put yourself under pressure, and when you succeed and achieve that impossible dream – wow! – the drugs will hit and you will feel sooooooooo good.
So there you have it – Ricky wants you to drive fast and I suggest you become a drug addict. Come to Kensray for your advice on health!
August 28th, 2009 at 7:35 pm
ahaha that’s just hilarious! I couldn’t stop laughing and people at work were wondering what was so funny!
We’re often afraid to aim too high in case we fail and we don’t want to be disappointed but aiming for those impossible goals is where the rush is!
August 31st, 2009 at 9:55 pm
It is when you turn your life over to instinct and the big part of your brain, the unconscious, that you can hit the fastball and see the pebbles on the road. Yes, dream the big dream. http://bit.ly/KBOoX
And, I have just put down the 5th Chapter of The Slow Guy Always Wins on the One Lane Highway, which, somehow, seems appropriate reading. This is a clearing novel — the first ever world-wide clearing novel.
September 1st, 2009 at 9:46 am
Very true. Thanks Nancy.