“A flat tyre! You have got to be kidding me! I don’t have time for this bullshit today! What a nightmare! This is the last thing I need. How much is this going to cost me? I really can’t afford it this month. How am I going to get my car to the garage when the tyre is already flat? Shit, will I have to pay extra for a tow? This is a total nightmare”.
These are some of the thoughts that ran through my head the first time I experienced a flat tyre. My neck and shoulders immediately felt tense, my attitude was negative and grumpy. I was annoyed and frustrated feeling as if I had just had a universal slap in the face. I’d never had to deal with a flat tyre in the past before. My ex-husband had always fixed any car issues for me. Including flat tyres. I felt out of my depth, not really knowing what to do in this situation on my own. Ridiculous really. Now that I know some of my female friends have changed their own car tyres easily.
I ended up phoning an ex-boyfriend who I knew wouldn’t mind helping out and he said it would be ok for me to drive the car to the nearest garage a few minutes away if I drove slowly and took my time. The garage was only down the hill and round the corner. I got there and the mechanics were able to work on it straight away. Here was me, thinking I’d have to wait days for an appointment but they said it wouldn’t take long at all. Meanwhile I contacted my boss to explain I wouldn’t be able to teach my first class that morning. I felt stressed and worried about letting the class down on such short notice. I sat in the garage waiting on them fixing the car, worried about how long it would take and if I’d be able to make it back to work in time to teach my second class that morning. I couldn’t relax at all. By the time I got to work, I was super tense and stressed.
Outcome = The tyre was easily fixed, my colleagues thought it was hilarious that I didn’t know how to change a tyre, the class was happy to get some time off and I came away feeling satisfied that I now knew how to fix a flat tyre in future. Well, not me personally but I knew what to do.
Five months later – another flat tyre! This time I handled the situation differently. Calmly. Knowing it was an easy fix! The change was notable and how relaxed I felt was in stark contrast to the first flat tyre experience.
This is a classic example of how the exact same situation can present itself but have two very different outcomes and experiences. We choose how we respond to circumstances in our lives. We can choose to respond calmly, knowing everything will sort itself out overall or we can choose to react negatively, feeling overwhelmed and stressed. A great lesson for me here. This experience helped me see that we have a choice in how we respond to whatever is happening to us.
Choice Matters
The first flat tyre experience had me in a total panic and stressing out. My body was tense and I was irritated and anxious about getting to work as soon as possible. I caused myself a few hours of undue negativity and worry. The second flat tyre was easily dealt with. No panic. No stress. Just handled smoothly and swiftly. All I needed to do was remember how easily the first flat tyre was fixed and how no one cared that I had missed my first teaching class. I had been stressing out for no reason at all.
I drove the car to the garage, just round the corner from my home, and this time the guy fixed the tyre for free! However, once I got to work the tyre was starting to lose air again. I was directed by one of my colleagues to the motor mechanics department at work. They replaced the tyre and I didn’t have to pay straight away! They were happy to wait until payday. I’ve since used the motor department at work for various things such as MOTs, oil, belt and filter changes. It’s so much cheaper than I used to have to pay at my main garage and it’s so handy having a motor mechanic department at work if anything does go wrong with my car. The flat tyre experience ended up causing future positive experiences and saving me money in the long run!
My main take home from this experience is noticing how I didn’t have to run into panic mode and stress myself out. The exact same situation was handled completely differently, a second time, by responding differently. This time I chose not to stress myself out. My nervous system stayed calm and my day turned out better! I thought to myself “Thureya, this has happened to you before and all you need to do is drive to the garage and get it sorted”. What a relief. This stopped me being any more negative about the situation. No need to panic or make a mountain out of a mow hill. Easily resolved. Proof that the exact same situation can be handled differently and in a more positive way.
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