I Ignored the Warning Signs 🔥

Have you ever had a life threatening situation suddenly appear out of nowhere? How did you respond?

That’s what happened to me a few days ago when my tire blew out on the freeway. And at first, I had no idea.

My wife and I were heading to a family event and had just cruised into the carpool lane at 75 miles an hour when the tire pressure indicator turned on. But I ignored it.

“That thing is always a bit finnicky,” I thought, “Let’s see if it stays on for a while.” And so I kept driving.

Then, the road started to feel a bit more bumpy than usual. But there wasn’t any new road work construction…

Pretty soon the car started to wobble, as if strong winds were slamming into the side. The only problem was, no trees or bushes in my field of vision were moving the same way.

The car handling just felt… off. Something was definitely wrong.

“Hey,” I asked my wife, “Can you see if there is a car service station near our destination?” Surprised, she started searching options on her phone.

That’s when I turned off the radio, cleared my thoughts, and focused all my senses into what my car was telling me in this crucial moment.

The tire pressure indicator.

The perception of a suddenly uneven road.

The feeling of strong wind when there wasn’t…

This wasn’t my imagination… my car was facing a serious problem. My guess? One of the tires was rapidly failing.

If I didn’t get off the freeway immediately, I could lose control. Or worse.

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“Hey, change of plans.” I said to my wife, “Instead of the destination, what’s the closest car service station to us right now?”

My wife’s eyebrow raised, “Are you serious?” she asked.

“Yup. We need to get off the freeway ASAP.”

All of a sudden, this casual drive to a family gathering was turning more dangerous by the second.

I put my emergency lights on and somehow swerved across 5 lanes of freeway hoping to reach the nearest exit. At this point, the back tires started to make the unnerving “wub wub wub” sound and the car lost even more stability.

My hopes of reaching a service station were fading fast. Now the question changed to, “Could we even get off the freeway?”

Nope.

With little control remaining, we struggled to the shoulder and with gravel crackling underneath the car limped to a complete stop.

As I turned the engine off, my wife and I looked at each other and with wide eyed wonder. In less time than it takes to microwave popcorn, our life had completely flipped upside down.

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I cautiously got out and with cars screaming by just feet away, inched to the back where I confirmed my suspicions.

One of the back tires was so deflated, it folded over itself like a wet bathroom towel. We weren’t getting off the freeway without help.

Now in this moment I wish I could say I heroically changed the car tire by myself with only a toothpick and some tape. However “yours truly” is not the most mechanically gifted person around.

And so thanks to the AAA roadside assistance hotline, a friendly tow truck soon pulled up and in a matter of minutes we were cautiously making our way back home on the emergency spare tire.

I’m NEVER letting that AAA annual subscription expire…

But what does this have to do with success?

The signals were there LONG before the crisis.

The tire pressure light. The feeling of an uneven road. The wobbling car.

My brain was picking up on it… I just didn’t trust it right away. And so I delayed taking decisive action until it was almost too late.

Here’s the point: Trust your instincts. More often than not, they are correct.

Because the truth is, your brain is an incredible machine that has had millions of years of development to specialize in one thing: Keeping you alive.

Consider all the things your brain processes when you routinely drive a car.

Speed. Other drivers. Sounds. Vibrations. Dashboard signals. Conversations. Weather. That mess that used to be a raccoon.

And to say nothing of cars with flat tires that swerve in front of you with their emergency lights on.

Your brain easily handles all of that… every second, of every hour, of every day. Without breaking a sweat. And it still has that Taylor Swift song on repeat in the background.

I don’t know about you, but that sure is a lot. Have you ever realized how insanely amazing your brain is? But how often do you trust your intuition?

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Keep in mind, your instincts, intuition, your gut feeling… whatever you want to call them… have helped you survive every single crisis, every single bad day, and every single emergency you’ve ever faced.

So, what tire pressure signals are happening in your life? Where are you starting to feel the “wub wub wub” of tires that need to be changed? Is there an exit you need to look for?

Trust your instincts.

You’ve got the most powerful computer in the known universe sitting behind your eyeballs, covering your back.

You got this.

But yeah… keep the a AAA subscription too. You’ll thank me later.

Christian

CHRISTIAN HANSEN has gone behind the scenes in some of the biggest organizations in the world to find out the reasons why some people get chosen and why others don’t. As the #1 bestselling and LinkedIn Top Ten ranked author of “The Influence Mindset: The Art & Science of Getting People to Choose You” Christian helps teams and organizations who want to stand out and be the obvious choice. With degrees from Brigham Young University and The London School of Economics, he’s helped thousands of individuals position and sell themselves. A fan of international communication, history, and choral music, he currently lives in Utah with his wife. Reach him at: TheChristianHansen.com