Reflecting On The Past
Sometimes, we need to reflect on the past. It doesn’t always have to happen at the start of the new calendar year, but that’s often when it happens. It can happen any time of the year. It can happen as a new season of the year takes place or after a special event in your life happens. Reflecting back can often give us a new perspective on life. We can learn from the things we did well and of our mistakes. If we don’t, it becomes an invaluable missed opportunity.
We’ve had our ups and downs when it comes to socializing with family and friends. At one point we had to keep to ourselves and visit pretty much via video chat. It can be tough to stay emotionally positive that way. The more we did it, the more we became accustomed to it. But as time went on, we were able to visit in person with our family and friends and enjoy a few beverages together. Something we all enjoy and relish. But with a blink of an eye, we lost much of that and now once again we seem to be in our bubble, socializing via video chats. Is this a positive or a negative?
Reflecting back on both happy and not-so-happy events can make us stronger going forward. When we had to remain in a smaller bubble to socialize, we learned how we could do so via video chat, including having a few drinks with family or friends. Oh sure, it wasn’t the same as being able to hug or touch someone, but it helped to keep our thoughts and emotions positive. Did we learn anything from that? I hope so.
We learned that it’s pretty easy to grab a drink and laugh and talk with family and friends. We learned it’s easy to drink in abundance while sitting in the comfort of our own home. We learned how easy it was to become impaired by alcohol while sitting together with family or friends. We learned or should have, the day after can be worse than we first thought. The amount of alcohol that can remain in our bloodstream can be a lot more than first thought. The hangover can be much more than that. But how can you be so sure?
Using a single-use breathalyzer from Not Your Child Corp or one of their very reliable and accurate handheld breathalyzers can ensure you know if you should be driving yet or not. We should have learned that already, but some people have yet to do that. It’s never too late to learn from our past. Has the past shown you that you may have taken chances by driving after drinking? The reality is we don’t have to take those chances. There are far too many things to risk by doing that. We have so many alternatives to avoid driving after drinking.
We can be smarter with what we’ve learned from reflecting on the past. We can make better-educated choices when it comes to our consumption of alcohol and the task of driving. That’s what the past has taught us. Or at least should have.
Scott Marshall has spent over 30 years promoting road safety in many jurisdictions. He has been a road safety journalist since 2005. Scott was also an on-air judge on the Discovery Network’s Canada’s Worst Driver during their first 3 seasons on the air. Not YourChildCorp. is proud to have Scott @Safedriver as a frequent contributor, his insights are irreplaceable.