Hello High Heelers,
I got lost in my home town this morning. Yes, I did. As I drove past the road that I knew I was meant to turn down, I watched familiarity vanish into the misty, rainy morning traffic. If I hadn’t had my feet on the accelerator and the clutch, I would have been kicking myself – but fortunately there were no limbs available for that (for kicking or to be kicked). There was no backtracking. There was no return. I had to go forwards into unchartered territory and I had to find my way out of the Cape Town ringroads on a tough weather day. In my defence, I grew up in this city years ago and I stayed on the other side of the mountain.
In my non-defence, I get lost often. Very often. It’s almost a party trick, a quirk. In fact, I’ve had a subconscious vetting system for all past partners based on their ability to safely co-pilot me, over the phone, from one location to the next. So usually in such lost-ness, I would have immediately called my current navigator to talk me through and out. But since I’ve been in a state of happy navigatorlessness for some time now, that was not an option. Right. So there I was. In the city of my childhood, not so much stuck between a rock and a hard place, but very much stuck between the mountain and my workplace. Panic set in. I imagined myself driving in circles all day, or worse, finding myself stuck in a ‘dangerous area’ (never mind that I’m a Joburg girl and I can pretty much handle myself through anything).
It’s funny how we tell ourselves we can’t do things. Often it’s because we listen to others tell us we can’t do them. I’ve spent a lifetime listening to people tell me I have the direction of a ping pong ball, or that I’d be the most entertaining Amazing Race contestant for viewers but the most frustrating for my fellow competitor. Gosh, even when I went for psychometric testing as a teenager the doctor told me that I’m great with words and numbers but that I must stay away from engineering, as my lack of visual understanding and 3D perception would be the death of people – possibly beginning with my own. He also went into maps and navigation and explained my brain’s shortfalls. This could be why, my father equipped me with a Garmin (unrequested) last year. Though to be fair, if I’d known how effective that little thing was, I could have saved myself a lot of poor vetting in the past.
With the help of said gadget, I proved all naysayers wrong today. Yes I did. On total lost-ness, I whipped out my Garmin, I typed in the address of my office on this side of the world, and I followed that annoying lady’s voice. Man, she took me through weird and wonderful streets I didn’t know existed. At one point I became a little concerned so also used the navigation system on my cellphone, and on my tablet for extra measure. Three options is better than none – and to me, better than one, too. I managed to steer clear of dodgy areas where imminent death is a high probability (I think it helps that there aren’t actually any such areas on this side of the continent) and I got to my offices, only fifteen minutes late, though on time for my first appointment. I even had a moment to pass the coffee shop for a hot caffeine fix and some nerve chilling.
Sure, in all honesty, modern technology assisted with my lack-of-direction out this morning. But in fairness to myself I may have a lack of direction, but I don’t have a lack of drive. I knew where I was going and I decided I was going to get there. So many people place restrictions on us. It’s really quite unfair. Some people are told they have no aptitude for numbers, others that they’re untalented artists – there’s a lifetime of ‘can’ts’ put on us. Whatever limitations are placed on you, remember that your greatest limitation is actually your own mind. It may seem somewhat of a cliché these days, but Mr. Henry Ford was onto something when he said “if you think you can, or you think you can’t, either way you’re right.”
You don’t have to do things the ‘hard way’ either. I may have little sense of direction – but so what – my enabling devices have that sorted, so I can focus on the stuff that I am good at, like sharing my silliness with you. The modern world has enabled us in so many ways. Your grandfather may say that your calculator makes you lazy, but any modern six-year old kid will tell you that if you’re not managing your budget on your iPad with the necessary app, you’re losing out on amazing functionality.
This week let’s be kind to ourselves and our capabilities. Let’s focus on what we’re good at, let’s enable ourselves where we can, in our weak areas. And let’s acknowledge that if we limit our power and our capabilities that we’re doing ourselves a grave injustice. Step up to the challenge of finding your best way forward and step out with confidence.
Have a wonderful week.
Yours in heels,
Jo
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