Liberty
01-15-2009, 01:11 AM
Hi all,
My name is Liberty and I used the course several months ago after fearing driving since I first drove back in high school 20 years ago. I rarely drove back then, maybe a few times a year, and then drove about once a week for a mile for a couple of years in college. Since then, I've probably only driven ten or twenty times, each time with extreme anxiety. So, like many folks, I've organized my life around not driving.
And Rich's post about non-drivers being liars really rings true for me (http://www.drivingfear.com/liar.htm): I've mostly lied about not driving and holding myself w/ not driving by largely saying not driving was a political decision (for environmental reasons and b/c life as a pedestrian keeps you in touch with your community). These things are true and I really do stand by them, but they're certainly not the whole story. I have absolutely also let my fear of driving influence MAJOR life decisions: what job to take, what city to live in, what neighborhood to live in, and even who it makes sense for me to date (ie they can't live too far away).
So, now I'm confronted by my fear b/c it's no longer working for me to keep letting my fear of driving rule my life. I have a dream job I'd like to keep for a long time, but I don't like the town I live in and I want to move to my dream city an hour away (SF) and still keep my job. This will only really work if I can drive. So it's clear I need to do something.
I used Rich's materials and joined Zipcar. And, even though I kept trying to work through the guidance in the course, I still couldn't even bring myself to unlock the Zipcar since I joined. But I did it tonight and drove for over an hour. And parked. And got gas. And survived!!!! I'll blather more about that in the success stories area. But, anyway, all that by way of saying "hello" and good job for being a part of this community and working on getting through this fear!
Cheers,
Liberty
My name is Liberty and I used the course several months ago after fearing driving since I first drove back in high school 20 years ago. I rarely drove back then, maybe a few times a year, and then drove about once a week for a mile for a couple of years in college. Since then, I've probably only driven ten or twenty times, each time with extreme anxiety. So, like many folks, I've organized my life around not driving.
And Rich's post about non-drivers being liars really rings true for me (http://www.drivingfear.com/liar.htm): I've mostly lied about not driving and holding myself w/ not driving by largely saying not driving was a political decision (for environmental reasons and b/c life as a pedestrian keeps you in touch with your community). These things are true and I really do stand by them, but they're certainly not the whole story. I have absolutely also let my fear of driving influence MAJOR life decisions: what job to take, what city to live in, what neighborhood to live in, and even who it makes sense for me to date (ie they can't live too far away).
So, now I'm confronted by my fear b/c it's no longer working for me to keep letting my fear of driving rule my life. I have a dream job I'd like to keep for a long time, but I don't like the town I live in and I want to move to my dream city an hour away (SF) and still keep my job. This will only really work if I can drive. So it's clear I need to do something.
I used Rich's materials and joined Zipcar. And, even though I kept trying to work through the guidance in the course, I still couldn't even bring myself to unlock the Zipcar since I joined. But I did it tonight and drove for over an hour. And parked. And got gas. And survived!!!! I'll blather more about that in the success stories area. But, anyway, all that by way of saying "hello" and good job for being a part of this community and working on getting through this fear!
Cheers,
Liberty