I am not going through the greatest time of my life at this point. In fact, these days, it seems like everything I touch turns to dust. There are so many road bumps in my path and all I want is to have a smooth journey for once. It’s seriously depressing and mentally exhausting!! At times like these, I like to pluck from my memory, an incident, which I can convolve to construe a neat moral story because sometimes seemingly small unimportant events in your life can have a much deeper meaning. I fondly remember this one particular incident which has really taught me a very valuable lesson in life and it also forms the basis for this post.
During my summer holidays, I was out with a couple of girl friends in Dubai. Within my eclectic mix of friends, I also had a friend who was fabulously wealthy. (Maybe it’s because of the “rich girl = big snob” stereotype, I am very compelled to add that she is also one of the nicest people I have ever met in my life) Moving on… we were getting ready to head back home, me in my mom’s 8 year old Nissan sunny, and my friend in her (lets take a deep breath) - Brand New Silver MERCEDES SLK Convertible. Anyways, as we get into our respective cars, my dear friend looks at me with a sly grin and says – “Wanna race?”
Ordinarily any person in their right mind would realize that this would be a pretty one sided race. I mean how can a beat up 8 year old car compete with a flashy new sports car, especially one that goes from 0 – 60mph in 5 seconds?
But then again – C’est moi!! I consider myself to be a pretty hot driver, and other than my dad, I have yet to meet someone who can drive better than me. (This does not include professional and stunt drivers by the way) And just the word “race” has this strange effect of provoking me and arousing my super competitive spirit.
Needless to say, within minutes, my friend was way ahead of me. However, thanks to a red traffic light and some slick maneuvering on my part, I ended up right next to her and in front of the red lights. The lights turned green, and I hit the accelerator with full force - only to see my car remain completely stationary while my friend zoomed ahead. I quickly switched off the AC (oh and trust me this helps when you want your car to accelerate) and my car slowly surged ahead. I wasn’t out of the race yet, there were still a few more kilometers to go and I was generously cursing my car when the crazy traffic in Dubai unexpectedly came to my aid. Up ahead I saw my friend completely enclosed by non moving cars and realized that this was the time to use my awesome and aggressive car steering techniques to plow my way through the traffic.
In the end, I won the race despite having an older and more inferior car – but that’s not what this story was about. The thing is, recently I have been feeling that life isn’t being fair to me at all. All around me, I see people getting these great opportunities, while for all my hard work throughout the years, I have only faced disappointment and rejection. What this story teaches me is that sometimes life hands you out a really crappy car, but you can still win the race, if you know how to drive it. Furthermore, you can also beat the people with flashy cars. Because when the roads are clogged with traffic, its not the kind of car that you have but the kind of driver that you are – that’s going to help you win the race. Similarly in life - your success will not be determined by the opportunities that you get, but by the way you deal with the disappointments that come your way.
Hope this little anecdote gives you a tiny moral boost your lighten your spirits. Keep checking out my page for more of my motivating speeches. =) Peace out!!
