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(photo courtesy of Sending Ollie China ’11)

“Know your role.” That was a popular statement used some years ago by a wrestler. Today it is a truth we would do well to adhere to in order to reduce stress, if nothing else. We need to ‘know our role’ and make it our business to carry out that role,

Sometime ago I was in a hurry and traffic lanes were slow however the carpool lane was moving along at a consistent speed. So even though I didn’t have the number of passengers required to be eligible to drive in the carpool lane, I switched over and drove in the lane. Sure enough a few miles later a California Highway Patrol officer pulled me over and issued me a traffic citation for close to a whopping $400! In addition I had to pay to attend online traffic school, which was an additional expense. All of this because I was in a lane I wasn’t supposed to be in. I wasn’t qualified to be in it even though I was driving a car because I didn’t meet the requirements needed to be in that lane.

That taught me a valuable lesson. I learned to know my role and stay in my lane (even when the other lane seems easier) until I meet the requirements to change roles or lanes. Although my role and lane may seem to have lots of congestion and delays, It can cost more than I’m willing to pay for in the long run if I switch over to the role/lane of least resistance.

Let’s make a choice today to stay in the role/lane we are qualified for until we meet the qualifications necessary for change.