On Driving

My grandfather taught me to drive a stick shift.

I was 15 or 16 and very reluctant to get my driver's license. We went to El Paso to visit my grandparents that summer, and my grandfather offered to take me out in their Nissan Z to teach me to drive.

I knew the basic mechanics of how to clutch, how to shift, etc.  But he gave me some of the best advice I've ever gotten that day, for driving and for life:

Pick a spot in the road and drive to it.

It seems innocuous at first, but I've thought of it often in tense driving situations. You only have to focus on the stretch of road right in front of you. Nothing more.

As I've gotten older, it's also come to mean more to me in a general sense about life. Goals are important, but they don't have to be monumental. In fact, sometimes just focusing on a goal you can see — a milestone you know you can achieve — can be the most beneficial.

Just pick a spot in the road, and drive to it.