The meme, “Stay in your lane”, started with a controversial post by Luis Rosias, which basically meant, “You are beneath me, and I would prefer that you do not trouble me with your inferior life and petty problems, thank you very kindly.”
In other words, don’t challenge people who are better than you – you are wasting their time.
Ever the contrarian, I prefer to think of the meme this way.
Do what you do best. Play to your particular skills and experience.
Slow down. There is no immediate need to pass that particular person at that particular time.
Unless of course, someone in your car is having a baby or you are out of red liquorice twists.
But the high value put upon every minute of time, the idea of hurry-hurry as the most important objective of living, is unquestionably the most dangerous enemy – Hermann Hesse
1. Pick a lane
These days we seem to be living by the motto, “As much as possible, as fast as possible.” We seek to be entertained, rather than entertain ourselves – or others. We then wonder why we continually feel dissatisfied, are left yearning, feeling less and less joy. Know that if you are not content, there is nothing to buy this weekend that can change that.
We are barraged (and addicted) to social media that is constantly imparting the message that everyone is living an exceptionally exciting life, while ours is downright mediocre at best.
Knowing this not to be entirely true, (Yes, your best friend is now just jetting off to stay in a butler-attended overwater bungalow in the Maldives), is alone significant and consoling.
According to Eric Schmidt of Google, every two days the human race creates as much information as we did from the dawn of civilization until 2003. That’s about five exobytes of data a day for those of you keeping score.
One reason that you may now be feeling a disquieting desire to move to a remote village in Latvia may be that questionable paint colour on your bedroom wall.
Or the fact that you can’t confidently entertain in your living room.
Or relax with a good book in a superb chair.
Or have run out of names for all your dust bunnies.
2. Get help if you’re lost
I think what overwhelms most people is that it’s hard to pick a lane to get started in. Is it your overstuffed and unorganized closets, your old living room furniture, no space to do crafts, or the lack of storage in your home office? Or have realized that your living space is not a storage space, and that 25 pairs of jeans is 20 pairs too many.
So get help. The best quality help you can find. They can help you drive in your desired lane, as well as avoid wrong turns, dead ends, fines, and potholes. Your home should be a place where you can live the life you want.
3. Research the roadway
It’s kinda like a dry run before you have to show up to give your first Toastmasters speech. This means thinking about how you want to live and feel in your home, what you want to do in your home, and how to accomplish it. You don’t need your home to be camera ready for Architectural Digest, have it look like a luxury hotel room, or decorate it for the gala event of the century.
Some people decorate for resale. Others try to reproduce what they saw on HGTV, their neighbours home, or reproduce the look they saw on the showroom floor. Design success comes down to being confident in your choices.
4. Pick an estimated time of arrival
This will help ensure you don’t get disillusioned because your plan is taking too long to yield results. If you’ve done your research/budget, you now have good information about how long it might take to get where you’re going. Make your plans to match something reasonable and rhythmic. Commit to your plan and stick with it for the duration or until you’ve reach your destination
5. Enjoy the ride
Don’t be distracted by other crazy drivers that seem to be outstripping you on the roadway. They all too often get caught in a traffic jam or get in an accident by rushing. Besides, you might be right behind the car that when it turns off, you’ll go miles ahead in your journey, faster than you imagined.
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