We all know the rubberneck people that have to see what’s going on when they pass an accident. I have to say that when I drive past an accident I’m a driver. I know someone might be injured and I don’t’ want to make a spectacle of that. But in life, I’m a rubbernecker. I want to know and do everything. I don’t want to be a spectator in my own life. I think rubbernecking my way through life means being completely aware and alive and not letting anything slip through the cracks.

Have you ever driven past an accident scene and craned your neck to see what happened? Or do you turn your head so you won’t have to see if anyone was hurt? I think there are a couple of ways people deal with accidents when they’re driving. The rubberneckers are the ones who want to see and know everything, even if it is unpleasant. The drivers just drive on by, hoping not to see anything that would be disturbing or bothersome.

I have to admit, when I drive past an accident, I’m a driver. I know that someone might be injured, and I don’t want to make a spectacle of that. I don’t want to see something I might have trouble forgetting, either.

But in life, I’m a rubbernecker. I want to know and do everything.

I want to be as informed and active in life as possible.

I guess in some ways it’s not really fair to compare my attitude toward life to how people pass accidents; I just think the phrase “rubbernecking” is really great and I want to use that term as a positive term to describe how I get through life.

I don’t want to be a spectator in my own life. I want to be right in the middle of things. I want to have my neck always stretching and my head always turning to know what’s going on around me.

But more than just knowing what’s going on around me, I want to act on those things that need acting on and do the things that need doing and really get where I want to go.

I think rubbernecking my way through life means being completely aware and alive, and not letting anything “slip through the cracks.”

In fact, I want to believe that I’m happening to life, rather than life happening to me. I want to believe that I’m a force not just of nature, but of life itself.

I want to plan where I’m going and I want to know how to get there and be prepared to change direction if, in looking around, I see that I’m not moving in the direction I hoped for. A very wise friend of mine says: Take action. If you run into a wall, turn left.”

What I don’t want is to just drive on through life, following my original map, never looking out to see what’s going on, never adjusting course to get to a new destination or find a better way to my first destination.

I want to be the most active participant I can be in my own life – my own mascot and quarterback. I want to be my own cheerleader and my own biggest fan. In short, I want to be so active in my own life, so much an impetus of my own growth, that my life takes off and rockets toward my goals.

My biggest problem with this attitude is not staying interested and motivated – it’s remembering that I cannot control the uncontrollable.

How can you become your own biggest cheerleader, fan and mascot, and be an active participant in your own life?

• Start paying attention to everything in life. What happened today that you can use in your growth?
• How can you use it?
• Use it today.

Thanks to Positive and Successful Lifestyle Tips for including this post in the Carnival of Inspiration and Motivation.