If others can, you can

Don't get intimidated by doable activities

I lived in New York City for nine years in my twenties and early thirties, but I never drove in the city. Partly that is because I didn’t own a car, and didn’t need one, so the opportunity seldom arose. But even after we left New York, and I bought a car, and I sometimes needed to come in to the city, I would take the train. It was more familiar, and driving in the city, with all the traffic and commotion, just seemed intimidating.

But a few years ago I needed to be somewhere in Harlem that wasn’t going to be easy to get to from Penn Station, and then I needed to travel somewhere north of the city that also wasn’t easily served by public transit. So after pondering this for a while I realized that, well, I owned a car. I have a drivers license. And more importantly, thousands of people drive in and out of New York City every single day. Judging by some of the antics I’ve seen, these people are not all more competent or experienced drivers than I am. I could do it.

So I drove over the George Washington Bridge into the city and I survived. Indeed, it was straightforward enough that I’ve now driven into the city several more times.

Now you might not be intimidated by urban driving. But perhaps there is something else that you’ve built up in your mind as being a big and scary deal. For some people it might be international travel, with the need for a passport and to go through customs and all that. Or maybe it’s the idea of going on the job market after a decade at the same place. Maybe it’s buying a house. Maybe it’s starting a business — what’s all this discussion of LLCs and such?

But here’s the thing. Some stuff is truly hard to pull off. I will not win an Olympic medal in this lifetime. But thousands of people travel internationally every day. Millions of people switch jobs in the US each year. Millions of people buy and sell homes. That suggests that buying or selling one is probably a doable endeavor.

If lots of other people are able to do something, then most likely you will be able to do it as well. Other, normal people don’t have some secret ability that you don’t have. They’re probably just more familiar with the process, because someone explained it to them or they decided to figure it out. You can do that too. You might feel a little anxious the first time. I know I did as I figured out the right exit from the GWB that I’d only seen other drivers take when I’d been a passenger before. But again, thousands of people do this every day. I could make it work.

So if there’s something you’ve been intimidated by, consider trying it out. It might not go perfectly, but if other people can do it, most likely you can too. And it really is nice to know that if I want to go into the city, in two hours I can be there. I even have a favorite midtown garage these days! Everything just seems a lot more accessible.