Your “yellow light” policy?
A number of years ago when I was riding as a passenger with my middle sister, the traffic light went from green to yellow. She gunned the engine and I let out a yelp.
To me, a yellow light meant slow down and prepare to stop.
To her, a yellow light meant speed up and make-it-through-the-intersection before you have to stop.
We both recognized yellow lights as a warning. But this warning triggered very different responses from each of us!
This came to my mind recently as I had just read Matthew McConaughey’s 2020 book, Greenlights. He wrote about how we all want to enjoy a state of success he calls “catching greenlights” and about his experience in realizing that the yellows and reds eventually turn green too.
When we approach an intersection and the light is green or red, we really don’t give it much more thought than continuing or stopping.
But when we see the light turn yellow, we are forced to make a decision. Do we continue on or come to a stop? And we don’t have a lot of time to decide so we react.
My sister and I experienced yellow lights differently, and I think of those yellow lights as a metaphor for our lives!
In life I have found that those yellow lights come in the form of major decisions, crises, life transitions, and unforeseen life obstacles. There are intersections in life that we’re not sure whether we should stop at, push through, or judge in the moment.
Yellow lights are how life calls our attention. And the choices we make in those moments can significantly change the course of our lives.
So do you have a “yellow light” policy? Have you predetermined that you’re going to:
- Always stop
- Play it by eye
- Always push through
Maybe it’s time to stomp on the accelerator, to go for it with confidence and verve.
Or maybe it’s time to take your foot off the accelerator, to slow down and be still.
Where have the yellow lights flashed in your life?
And did you put your foot on or off the gas pedal?
