The other day I found broken taillight glass next to my wife’s car. At first I thought nothing of it but upon closer inspection I noticed that the person that parks next to my wife sideswiped her car while backing out of their spot. I looked for a note on our windshield admitting fault but there was nothing there. I was pissed.
An hour later my phone rang. It was the guy. He said he was the one that hit our car and was sorry. He also said to “send me the bill” and he’ll pay whatever it is. I was grateful to have answers and even more grateful to have someone willing to own their mistake.
When I told my wife about it she said she didn’t want to send him a bill. She said that she wanted to go through insurance because of the possibility of him not paying us. Deep down I knew it was the right thing to do but the thought of having to call the guy back and tell him we need to go through our insurance company scared me.
In my mind he was going to get mad at me. He was going to be upset that we were causing his insurance rates to go up and he was going to do something to us in return like “key” our car or give us a flat tire. And here’s the kicker… I’m twenty years older than he is.
I spent the entire next day worrying about this. I kept playing out different scenarios in my head and each time the guy was angry. Never once did I project that things would go smoothly.
My wife could see the turmoil I was in and said she would take care of it but I knew deep down that this was something I needed to handle personally. I needed to be the one to contact this guy and I needed to do it while knowing that regardless of his reaction everything would be okay.
When I saw him the next morning I took a deep breath and told him that we need to go through insurance and he was completely okay with it. There was no tantrum. No screaming. None of the stories that I made up in my head were true.
I wanted to share this with you because it clearly outlines how my projection created my perception. I was so caught up in the story of this guy freaking out that I wasn’t open to the possibility of him being okay with us going through insurance. The negative thoughts that I was projecting cut off any possibility for something positive. Instead rather I was committed to fear.
Situations like these are opportunities for me to learn and grow. They remind me that I’m in charge of what I project in my life. If I’m projecting in my mind that life is hard then every time something like this happens I’m going to perceive life to be hard.
I’d rather project that my life is unfolding perfectly and for my greatest good. This small shift alone can change my life forever.
Love,
Zachary