The Windshield and the Rearview Mirror

“I wanna tell you that the windshield is bigger than the rearview mirror for a reason, because what’s in front of you is so much more important than what’s behind you…” Music artist Jelly Roll preached these words during his acceptance speech at the 2024 CMA music awards. The 39 year old also said “I don’t know where you’re at in your life or what you’re going through, but I wanna tell you to keep going, baby. I wanna tell you success is on the other side of it. I wanna tell you it’s gonna be okay…”

The analogy of the windshield and the review mirror…amazing!!! What a great reminder! It’s not easy to keep looking out the front window and a whole lot easier to ruminate and focus on the events you see in the rearview mirror.

Looking out the front window on the outside sounds simple enough. But at its core requires you to change. To do things differently like embrace new behaviors or shift your mindset even when you don’t want to. Easy? Well, if you ask my alter ego (and maybe yours too) Change Challenged Charlie you will find me (Charlie) resistant to all ideas of behavioral change. But behavioral change is where all change starts. Making change happen, is in part, related to how willing you are to take a risk. A risk, perhaps, that may exceed your grasp, fail, make you look dumb, not in control or even wrong.

So how can you overcome these “emotional outbursts” and begin making real change happen in your life or look out the front window? Change comes down to readiness. In other words, how ready are you for change? Charlie views readiness as easy. That is until he gets knee deep into a change and the feelings of not being right and the idea of running away consumes your thoughts.

So, let’s try something different. Instead of preparing to be “ready” or focusing on risk, let’s start with becoming more aware of what’s happening in your own world. Doing so helps you to create a better understanding of yourself. For example, your likes and dislikes which helps you to stay informed to what’s happening in your world. Building awareness starts with simple things like:

1. What’s working and not working in your life right now?

2. What does this new change offer you or how will this change help you accomplish your ambitions?

3. What strengths do you have that can help you succeed?

Starting with awareness also creates a more positive and prepared vibe instead of the feeling of being behind and having to get ready.

Building your awareness is one way to start moving away from Change Challenged Charlie and becoming Change Champion Charlie and a great way to keep looking out the front window.