Traffic jam wisdom: Grass is greener on the other side. Or is it?

Driving to and from work is a rather time wasting exercise. An hour just stuck in traffic can accomplish so much! So, a sudden gush of wisdom was bestowed upon me as I sat behind the wheel of my 20+ year old car. I shall share it with you, my dear readers which are slowly diminishing day by day.

Grass is greener on the other side

It’s a four lane highway, you’re queuing up on the slow lane inching your way to the front. You glance to your right and see cars on the fast lane moving much quicker. “Hey! That lane is moving faster.” Do you switch lanes?

Scenario 1: You switch lanes and once you switch, the cars begin to slow down on the fast lane and the cars on the slower lane are moving faster now. “Ah! What the heck!”. You end up worst off than if you just persevered.

Scenario 2: You change lanes and zoom ahead. You notice that the cars on the fast lane are slowing down and the speed on the slow lane seem to be picking up speed. You switch lanes again. You end up reaching your destination much faster than if you did not switch lanes.

Scenario 3: You don’t make the switch and patiently inch your way to your destination. The cars on your right continue to pass you by. This is a scenario of sticking to your choices but they are not always the right ones.

Moral of the story: Scenario 1 & 2: Timing is key! Observation is necessary. This sorta applies to real life. If you caught the start of the movement, you’re fine. If you caught the tail end, unfortunately you’ve missed the boat and left to eat dust. Better luck next time. This basically translates to “don’t be a follower and strive to be the leader” as well.

What about Scenario 3 where the driver didn’t switch lanes? Well, he/she basically missed the boat, but since he/she has nothing to compare with. He/she is in their ignorant bliss, until someone makes a comparison. The lesson here is that basically you gauge your own achievements. If you felt that you reached your destination in a reasonable time, that’s good. If you felt you should have been faster, well there is always tomorrow to try out a different route maybe?

Hope you’ll have interesting thoughts while driving!