THE DRIVERS’- LICENCE SYNDROME

 

The drivers'-license syndrome is not a newly discovered psychology theory, so that’s why you have never heard of it before. I’ll define it so that you have a mini aha moment that still leaves you looking at your screen confused. It will all make sense by the end, I hope.

So, I don’t have a drivers' license. Hear me out this isn't going to be a dramatic monologue, I promise.

The reason is not that I have no desire to learn how to drive or even own a car. I have enrolled in two different driving schools, and I left both without a license.

I know I may seem like a cash money (rich aunty) who donates to driving schools, but in all honesty, I started every class with the dream of getting my license at the end.

I don’t think that it was hard to grasp the concept, because as you read this, I can move a car forward and use roundabouts. I even know the whole give way to traffic on your left rule etc. I didn’t succeed both times for some reason.

At the first school, I failed my theory exams, and I think that demoralized me. I was terrified of sitting behind the steering wheel. I was afraid of the other cars, the roads, and everything else, so I decided to hide under work and never go again.

At the second school, I had a very patient teacher who taught me a lot. Even though it was a full year after my first experience, I still remembered some of my previous lessons from the first school, so it wasn’t too bad. I passed my theory exams, and everything was going well till life happened. I didn’t know how to balance it.

I missed several lessons because I couldn't get there early enough ( think: arriving at 6:05 am for a 6:00 am lesson). In my defense, work was quite demanding, and I forgot to adapt to my new conditions.

"In April 2020, I’ll dedicate one month to get my license," I said enthusiastically.

 I was very serious when I made that announcement to myself and my accountability partner. It was what the experts call a SMART goal: Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic, and Timely.

Then, we all know what happened, and back to my pillow, my head went. 

I have had free time for about two months, and I still can’t bring myself to continue my lessons, mainly how to reverse a car and parallel park.

I have tried to find the reasons for this, but I haven't had much success.  I find this annoying because it is usually effortless for me to see patterns and suggest possible solutions to a lot of challenges. It is as if I have a collection of unconventional ways of solving everyday problems stored in a box somewhere.

If you are reading this and you see a pattern of some sort or know something that can help me, please let me know because I really want to get my drivers' license. Imagine someone is just patiently waiting to surprise me with a car, and I am here just delaying. I digress.

Today I am thinking about giving it another try to see if the third time will be a charm, and I hope that I succeed.

So, there it is, the drivers'-license syndrome: Failing at something you want to do for no apparent reason.