Driving Anxiety and The Original Driving Fear Program

The "Golden Rule" of Driving Anxiety

Today I want you to learn the “Golden Rule of Driving Anxiety”.

Now you probably already know that other Golden Rule, the, “treat others how you would want to be treated”. Let's think about it...what makes it the “Golden” rule and not the silver, bronze, or tin rule? Well, I think it's because so many questions can be answered by it. I look as it as your “go-to” rule. Confused about what to do in a particular situation? Check out the Golden Rule and see what you come up with. Not sure about what’s right or wrong? Golden Rule time. It’s 9 words that you could spend a lifetime trying to live up to. The power is in its simplicity. We need one of those for driving anxiety, don't you think?

It was a bit overwhelming trying to come up with a Golden Rule of Driving Anxiety. I’ve got some stiff competition. That other one has been around for awhile.

But I think I did it. The Golden Rule of Driving Anxiety is deceptively simple, just like the other one, yet it contains all you really need to know about how to cope with and conquer your driving anxiety. Now living by it, not surprisingly, isn't as simple, but this one sentence I’m about to tell you should be your “go-to” question whenever you feel the familiar feelings of driving anxiety creeping up.

Ok, ready? Hold on tight…

“What would I do if I WASN’T afraid?”

See, I told you it was simple. That’s the point, but let’s examine it…

The Golden Rule of Driving Anxiety helps you think more clearly when anxiety while driving makes it tough. For example, let’s say you’re driving and approach a bridge that always makes you anxious. Your brain screams at you to get off and avoid it, but another part of you isn’t so convinced. It’s just so hard to think straight and focus when you’re panicky and conflicted…

But hold on.

You know The Golden Rule of Driving Anxiety.

If you weren’t afraid, what would you do? Cross the bridge or get off and avoid it?

That’s right, you'd cross it.

When you get closer to the bridge you start to feel your anxiety physically. Maybe your stomach gets butterflies, you start to perspire, your thoughts swim in your head…so you tighten your grip on the wheel until your knuckles are white, breathe fast and shallow, and hit the gas to get it over with.

Wait a second…what about the Golden Rule of Driving Anxiety?

You think back to The Golden Rule of Driving Anxiety and ask yourself what you would do if that bridge didn’t scare you. You relax your grip on the steering wheel, control your breathing, and slow down -just like it didn’t make you anxious at all. You prevent those anxious physical symptoms from making you feel worse and spiraling into a full blown panic attack while driving.

Do you switch off the radio to focus intently on your anxiety and monitor yourself for signals your driving anxiety will get worse? Do you reach for a cell phone to take your mind off yourself and run from your feelings of anxiety? Yell at the kids to be quiet? Feel depressed because of how you feel?

Not if you’re paying attention to The Golden Rule of Driving Anxiety. Someone who’s not afraid doesn’t need to be hyper focused about sensations in their body, the don’t try to distract themselves from their thoughts and emotions…just do what you think someone would do if you weren’t struggling with driving anxiety.

Simple? Certainly. Easy? Not quite as much. But I can tell you this - it will help you more than you could believe. There’s a lot of things you can do to overcome your driving anxiety, but a lot of it boils down to techniques to help you implement that simple sentence. The Golden Rule of Driving Anxiety is eight words that can help open up the world to you and give you back your freedom. Go tattoo them on your arm, or I suppose you could just make a note and tape it to your dashboard if you prefer.

Oh yeah, I guess the other Golden Rule is a pretty good idea too.

Rich Presta

Overcome your driving anxiety today