Mind Turtles
By Maria Khalifé
“God, make me so uncomfortable that I will do the very thing I fear.” ~ Ruby Dee
If you’ve done much driving – and I have in several countries – you’ve encountered safety devices on the roads in one form or another.
I heard a story told by Michael Neil about Road Turtles that you might find interesting and you will discover how your own uncomfortable feelings are like the road turtles of your mind.
In Hawaii, he found himself the only driver among his friends with a valid driver’s license. They all planned to watch the sunrise in a spot where the lava from the local volcano poured into the ocean spewing up huge pillars of steam.
They had to leave at 3 am to get there, but his exhaustion from traveling made him begin to fall asleep behind the wheel of the car. Suddenly, the car shuddered and he and his passengers were jolted to their senses as he quickly pulled off to the side of the road.
“What the heck was that?” he asked.
“Don’t worry, mate,” said one of the back-seaters. “It was just a turtle.”
“I ran over a turtle?” he exclaimed.
“Not a turtle turtle, you dope – a road turtle!”
They got back on the road wide-awake now with a car accident having been prevented by a Road Turtle. These devices are raised pavement markers and go by lots of other names: Botts Dots, Road Studs, Cat’s Eyes and another wake-up device serving the same wake up service are rumble strips or sleeper lines.
We all have negative, insecure and uncomfortable feelings that we entertain in our minds that serve the same purpose there that Road Turtles serve on the highway: our negative feelings make us feel uncomfortable. These negative feelings are a waving red flag to us that our thinking has slipped of the path of what is right and good, and that we are about to create something we do not want if we keep it up.
Mind Turtle = Uncomfortable Feelings
Our minds unerringly send out the perfect signal for what we need in any situation, and these mind turtle / uncomfortable feelings are a key signal. You can train yourself to look for them. Here is a list of ways that they might appear:
- Shame
- Embarrassment
- Criticism
- Indignation
- Resentment
- Nervousness
- Self-pity
- Panic
- Full blown fear
- Doubt
A Mind Turtle in the road is a clue to immediately self-correct. So are those uncomfortable feelings. They just mean “Find yourself something better to replace this discomfort” and once you do, your world brightens immediately.
I feel uncomfortable because I’m insecure about who I am.
~ Trent Reznor
Take Action Now
- I will make a list of my own Mind Turtles.
- I will create one Action Step for each Mind Turtle so that I can step away from them.
- I will take one step away each day this week.
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