Life is like the world's longest road trip. You’re always moving, trying to get to the next big destination that we often fail to enjoy something less noticeable along the way. So, like on a road trip, you have to stop yourself. Now, you may be wondering, how does one stop life? And the answer is simple. Head trauma. Very severe head trauma. It's like popping a tire whilst on a road trip. You’re forced to stop. Or…well you’re supposed to stop. Technically you could carry on, but that is just gonna land you even bigger problems.

Speaking from my personal experience, a concussion works great to get perspective on life. You get out of work/school. You can’t watch TV or go on your phone. Sometimes you aren’t even allowed to read. Now you’re probably thinking to yourself right now, “Wow, that would suck not being able to do anything,” and you’d be right! Good for you. But there is actually one thing left to do. While sitting in a room with no light. No sound. No one else. Nothing to do. You can think. You can think about your job. Your future at that company. Your friendships. Your love life. Your family. You can stop to examine all these with no outside pressures. Slowly, methodically think about all these and truly think about your life. What makes you happy? What doesn’t? What can you get rid of? What can be improved? Why do Canadians get so violent in hockey? (But seriously why? We should send someone to check on them). 

But I digress. By getting your skull bashed in and being freed from the commitments of day to day life one can thoroughly examine their life and reflect. It is very similar to how by popping a tire on a road trip you can stop and explore the town you’re in. Maybe you visit the diner. Maybe you order a slice of their supposedly “famous” peach pumped pumpkin pie. Maybe it's the best pie you’ve ever had. And had your tire not popped you wouldn’t even know it existed. Something similar may happen as you reflect on life while sitting alone in your dark room. You could realize that your job has no room for movement within the company and you need to start looking for a new one. Maybe you realize that you need to start paying more attention to your friends. You could realize that you miss your family. Perhaps you’ll realize that your little brother is actually really cool and you should give him more candy for no reason. 

These insights are something that can easily be lost in the pace of life as you flit from never ending task to never ending task for 18 straight hours only to pass out on your couch watching soap operas and eating ice cream from the tub. So please, I beg of you, take a few days to just stop and think about where your life is. You, hopefully,  don’t need to headbutt a wall to find the time. Just a few days of reflection is all you need. A few days and you could change your life for the better. A weekend plus a Monday. A few days to reach a better life. Now isn’t that a destination worth the trip?