Don't Drive Yourself Crazy! Here are 5 Ways to Drive Yourself Happy -- Every Day

Written by Posted On Wednesday, 28 February 2024 00:00

If you're stuck in traffic, getting stressed out about it will not change your circumstances. Life's a journey, not a destination, so do what you can to enjoy the ride.

How often is your day ruined before it begins by a horrible commute? Does it make you feel out of control to be stuck, with nowhere to go... stewing? I bet that doesn't make for the most productive workday, and definitely not the most enjoyable. How could it? You're starting in a happiness hole.

But there are some easy techniques you can practice every day to make your commute a lot less tense, or at least keep it from spoiling the other 23 hours in your day.

1. The Power of Preparation. 

Mentally prep yourself for your upcoming ride. Before you get in the car to drive to work or school, stop for 10 seconds and prepare yourself for traffic. Say, "I have no control over how long it will take me to get where I'm going, so I'm not going to get upset about it." If you tell yourself this every morning, soon enough you'll discover how easy it is to stay calm and enjoy the ride. Even when it's really slow.

2. Make the Interior of Your Car a Calming Oasis. 

The sounds you listen to on any long drive can make a world of difference in your mood. You may love that talk radio station that agrees with all of your political views, but how often does the content just make you furious? Do you arrive at work angry because of what you heard on the news? Unless your place of work has Secret Service agents outside the door, chances are you're not going to be able to change anything about the story you just heard, and getting angry at the start of every day is not conducive to your happiness. Find the content that gives you the most pleasure -- whether it's music or a podcast or an audiobook -- and make sure that's in your car. There are podcasts for every taste, and most are free to download to your phone, so do a little research and find the one or two or 10 that are right for you. Make your ride into "me time" -- a chance to indulge in pleasant entertainment that you otherwise wouldn't have room for in your day.

3. Love Your Landmarks. 

Have you noticed your route? Really noticed it? What's at the halfway point? What spot generally means you're five minutes away? Is there a car dealership along the way that has goofy blow ups? Is there a billboard with a grammar error that makes you cringe? Find the regular landmarks along your route and use them not only to mark your distance, but also to make you smile. Don't plow into the back of the car in front of you while sightseeing, but starting tomorrow, pay attention to the view. There's a lot more to look at and appreciate than you had realized, and if you think of your commute as going to a museum for an hour each day (or a zoo!), you can have a lot of fun with it.

4. It's a Whole Wide World of Happy Colors. 

Right now, think of your absolute happiest memory. Flashback to a moment of your life of unbridled joy. Now, what color comes to mind with that memory? Is it the pink flowers you planted in the first house you owned? The green door of your high school sweetheart? The blue jerseys your team wore when they won the national championship? Imprint your happiest memory with a color. Got your color? Look around during your commute and notice how many places you see that color. Everywhere you see it, let it remind you of that happy memory. Relive the joy, and be glad this time in your car allowed you to do so. If this effect wears off, come up with a different memory each week. Cycle through a few of them. Make your commute a time to reflect on how happy you've been, how happy you are, and how happy you will be once you reach your destination.

5. Be Kind. 

In Happiness as a Second Language, there are several easy techniques for quickly getting over a bad day, and one of them is to give a compliment to a total stranger. Buy the guy behind you a cup of coffee. Do something completely outside yourself and then reward yourself by dropping the bad mood. The same can be true of your commute. Do you see someone desperately trying to change lanes? Let that person in. Now, smile to yourself for being a good person. When I lived in Oakland and worked in San Francisco (perhaps one of the worst commutes on the planet), I decided once a week to pay the Bay Bridge toll for the car behind me. Those were some of the best days of my week. In fact, if I knew I was going to have a crummy day at work, I would make sure I covered the car behind me on the way. That way, at least one great thing was guaranteed to happen that day.

If you're stuck in traffic, getting stressed out about it will not change your circumstances. In fact, it's only likely to make your bad day worse, so relax and stay calm. Flash back to a happy memory. Find signposts on your way that amuse you or remind you of things you love. Remember that you have a car and a job and gas in the tank and a place where you're needed -- which are all good things. Use this time to think about how amazing your life is.

Life's a journey, not a destination, so do what you can to enjoy the ride.

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Valerie Alexander

Valerie Alexander is a nationally-recognized speaker on the topics of happiness in the workplace, the advancement of women, and unconscious bias, and her TED Talk, “How to Outsmart Your Own Unconscious Bias” has been viewed more than 50,000 times.

Valerie’s books include:

• Happiness as a Second Language -- an Amazon #1 Seller
• Success as a Second Language
• How Women Can Succeed in the Workplace (Despite Having “Female Brains”)
• Plus several more she’s published in her trademarked “...as a Second Language” series

Valerie started her career as an IPO lawyer, investment banker and Internet executive in the Silicon Valley, then transitioned to Hollywood, where she enjoyed success as a screenwriter and director. She is a graduate of Trinity University, U.C. Berkeley and Berkeley Law, and was Trinity’s 2016 Commencement Speaker. In addition to running two corporations and traveling the world as a keynote speaker, Valerie also writes Christmas movies for the Hallmark Channel, which she knows you secretly love, even though you’ll only admit to watching them with your mom. Valerie and her husband live in Los Angeles with their ill-mannered German Shepherd, Vegas, Baby!

www.SpeakHappiness.com

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