Years ago, I was invited to a car manufacturing and testing facility. This was a facility at which engineers designed and tested several different types of automobiles. At this sort of facility, cars are created to be as safe and effective as possible. Whilst I was invited to the testing facility, there were a lot of other things happening on-site. At the car manufacturing facility, there were people working on the design of the vehicles. Each design was placed through a series of tests, including the wind tunnel.
While I don’t know much about the design or manufacturing of cars, the wind tunnel test was very interesting to watch. A deep-white smoke blows through the tunnel and around the cars as the engineers gauge the resistance and calculate the aerodynamic values.
As I was watching them conduct this test, I asked one of the engineers, “What’s the purpose of what you’re doing here?” The engineer answered, “We put the car through this process so we can maximize its efficiency and effectiveness.” I further inquired, “So after you conduct these tests, do you make adjustments to the engine as you feel necessary?” The engineer answered, “No, there isn’t any need to do that; the engine it comes with is fine. It’s the stuff that we add-on afterwards that causes drag. The things we attach to the original design sometimes cause the car to decline in its effectiveness and efficiency.”
After hearing his response I couldn’t help but see the correlation between this process and our own journey through this human experience. We are created masterfully; the engine we come with is fine. It’s the stuff we pick up along the journey that slows us down. It’s the stuff that we pick up along the journey that affects us adversely – it affects our efficiency, our speed, and our ability to navigate through this journey of life. It’s the drama, regret, grudges, emotional scars, and other stuff we pick up along the way that hinders our progress.
Think of how much more efficiently and effectively you could drive towards your dreams if you cut away the stuff that causes drag… Let today be the day you free yourself from the drama, the issues, the self-destructive patterns, the poisonous people… drop the stuff that causes drag and happily move towards the life you want.
© Steve Maraboli
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