Zipper Merge and how it relates to life
Those of us old enough to drive, are all familiar with the zipper merge, and, we have all formed our opinions and thoughts on those that merge “too late”. I view this as something else, as a metaphor for life, and how people can sometimes view life. I do not know that this will change your view on those who speed up ahead and merge at the last minute, but just maybe this will give you a different perspective.
A lot of us, have this feeling of being stuck in life, that no matter what we do, we are going to be stuck in this same lane that seems to not be moving. Meanwhile, we sit by in our self creates traffic, and just watch as others seem to zoom right on by. The longer we sit, and stay stuck, the more we start to resent those just flying by. But I have to ask why?
I know that there are certain exceptions, but the vast majority of us, place these limitations on ourselves. Then we start to develop these self limiting beliefs, and this narrative that, we can not just simply merge back over to get ahead. We make up this narrative that we are stuck right where we are, until we get to the end. While we stay stuck, this anger grows towards those getting ahead and just flying right by. The more we look at it, we really are not mad at them though, we are mad at ourselves, because we had the same opportunity in life and did not choose it. Then we choose to stay stuck in the life that we chose.
The thing we so often do not realize, is we have ample time to change our course before we get to the merge at the end of the road. While we have breath in our lungs, we can change lanes and move forward. Life in the fast lane is not just for the young, and at any point in your life, you can stop and hop on over if you are not satisfied with where you are in life. Do not put limitations on what you can and can not do. Life is hard enough that you should not be limiting yourself.
As you can see from the image above, life actually works and functions better when both lanes are in use. I know it might be intimidating to switch lanes late in life, but it is better than living in anger and regret for the opportunities that were missed. It is also better than living a life where you feel stuck by the decisions you made in your youth.
This is your life, take charge and make sure you are the author going forward. Do not let the traffic in front of you, or decisions made previously, be what dictates your future. Grab control and switch lanes. The end of the road will come, so enjoy the ride before the final merger comes.