A little piece of inspiration for a ‘new me’ — or an old me made new, as the case may be

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Updated Jan 3, 2020

A little something different on the Channel 19 blog today from CoachCarolyn O’Byrne. Regular readers will recall Wendy Parker’s past reviews of her “Gut Instinct” book, as well as news about her online self-help modules from earlier this year. The life coach (and much else besides) geared them specifically toward over-the-road haulers who have likewise specific goals in mind.

For anyone looking at the year upcoming and attempting muster the will toward needed change, or just contemplating small modifications to the day-to-day that could serve to maximize enjoyment and/or success, here’s a bit of a special New Year message from CoachCarolyn as we look ahead to better times. One can hope, sure, and one can supplement that hope with close attention to — as Overdrive Extra contributor Gary Buchs has routinely stressed always underpinned his success in trucking, those things that we can control. 

Here’s a Happy New Year to all of you, here. Now, that message from Carolyn:

Happy New Me

Drivers, sure it is the ritual of many to make resolutions with the ringing in of the new year, but really the time of year makes no difference at all. Every day is a new day, and an opportunity to make better decisions and commit to improvement.

So what does this have to do with trucking and being on the road?

Though the concept can apply to anyone, over-the-road trucking of course adds a unique, and for some quite hard to handle, angle on everyday life. In some ways, each day on the road is a new adventure, yet the time constraints, the dead periods of waiting, canceled loads, mechanical problems (that pesky Murphy’s Law)… All of it can heighten the level of uncertainty and stress.

Stress is an underlying issue for so many conditions or just bad practices we all can face and engage, from overeating or too frequent indulgence in unhealthy comfort foods to those cigarettes and vape pens so many wish they could just easily toss. Hearts conditions, high blood pressure, excess weight, anxiety, depression — the list could on. But the key thing to realize is that though sometimes it seems as if stress and physical health concerns are a part of your life, they don’t have to be.

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A happy, healthy, new you hinges on choice. Sure, it might be hard at first, but most change is absolutely possible, and the effort is worth it.

It is about knowing that circumstances around you are just that — circumstances.

You have a superpower within you that gives you the power to choose how you react or respond to these circumstances.

What would you like to change? Have you always been this way?

Is where you are right now going to take you to the place in life you want to be?

Let’s take a trip into your mind for a moment.

Where are you now? Where do you want to be?

Look down this road to where you want to be. What is it going to take to get there?

What does there look like?

Pretend you are there right now. Look back at the hard work that you put into it, would you regret it?

No matter what time of year it is, I want you to say, “Happy New Me.”

Some will never see the need to change and will not get the opportunity to live the high quality of life they could have. Some see the need and do it on their own. Some see the need and get help and support to guide them to their destination.

Either way, know you can overcome any situations that come your way, especially the unique obstacles that you deal with on the road.

My Happy New Me’s gift to you:

Free prison

My freedom is the road
I see the plains
I talk the code
I race the engine trains

The valleys pull me faster
The mountains make me scream
The sky is of plaster
The city lights a dream

My prison is the road
I see the pains
I feel the load
I fight the heavy rains

Time is my master
I’m blinded by the gleam
My struggles grow vaster
No attitude of team

Freedom or prison
The difference is me
Awareness has risen
The blinded can see

No longer my master
No longer what it seems
I am my forecaster
It is what I deem

I reap what I sowed
I choose my gains
I choose my road
I choose my lanes

I choose prison, or free –Carolyn O’Byrne