The Sticky Speedometer

by Scott Noelle

Some years ago, my car’s speedometer developed a case of sporadic “stickiness.”

The first time it stuck I didn’t know it. I was driving on a freeway, faithfully checking the speedometer at regular intervals, and I believed it was “right” even though my actual speed was gradually increasing!

It didn’t occur to me to question the speedometer’s “authority.”

Eventually the growing difference between what it was telling me and the feeling of my actual speed made me realize that the speedometer was stuck — that I’d have to start relying on my inner guidance.

It was disconcerting at first, because I’d always relied on the external authority, but before too long I got pretty good at sensing whether I was going too fast or slow. . . .

Improve Your Groove

Today, let your feelings reveal and replace your “sticky speedometers” — beliefs, expectations, and rules that aren’t serving you.

When something looks right but feels wrong, be willing to question even the unquestionable. For progressive parents, some of the stickiest speedometers are forms of “parental correctness” that started as brilliant ideas.

Originally published on 2007-02-09
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