I want to break my personal posts for now because I miss sharing inspiring stories. I don't know if this one's inspiring, but it's one of those days wherein I realised how my simple decision showed how much I've changed in terms of dealing with life.
The other day, I was supposed to leave around 7AM to get a parking spot at the train station, so I could go to the city and fix some paperworks and meet my friend. You see, during weekdays, when it's already 8AM, there is no way you can get a parking spot at any train station. People drive to the station to leave their cars and ride the train to work, and they don't come back until the afternoon.
The other day, I was supposed to leave around 7AM to get a parking spot at the train station, so I could go to the city and fix some paperworks and meet my friend. You see, during weekdays, when it's already 8AM, there is no way you can get a parking spot at any train station. People drive to the station to leave their cars and ride the train to work, and they don't come back until the afternoon.
I was so tired to get up at 6:30AM as I only had 4 hours of sleep, and I told myself that no matter what, I can just have a few more hours of sleep, and even though I am late, I am going to get that parking space anyway. I totally believed it was going to be okay.
So... I finally got up and drove to the train station. It was 10:30 AM.
Good luck.
Good luck.
As I approached the station, I can already see cars parked FAR from the station in a long line along the main road. As I got closer to the station, cars were parked OVER the grassy areas that were not meant for parking.
That was a VERY CLEAR sign that the main parking space was full, and people have already started using the spaces that were not meant for parking.
Despite warnings that cars shouldn't park there, people took the risk. I wasn't going to. It was against the law, so why should I? I still believed I was going to get a spot.
I drove around the two parking areas, hoping someone would come out.
None. I spent so much of my time there, hoping and believing I'd get a spot.
I did not give up.
I said I'll come back. I decided to try the other station which was a 30-minute drive from this station-- if I didn't take the motorway. I took the motorway anyway and got to the other station, which had more buildings for parking.
Again, I roamed around these buildings with 5 cars competing with me. We were all hoping we'd get a space. I would even watch those coming down from the train, and then make a run for wherever they might have parked (which was difficult because they used the elevator, and I didn't know where they were heading as I was inside my car, trying to guess where I should go next).
I went around more than 4x. I did not want to give up. Even the cars competing with me started to give up.
I decided to leave the parking buildings and headed to the nearby streets. They were also full!
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| CREDIT: Michael Gaida |
That was it. I decided to go back to the original station I went to. The one which had limited parking spaces, which means lesser chances of getting a spot.
I said to myself that I'm still gonna get one. If I don't, then I'll just go home and rest, but I still believed in getting that space.
I really wanted to prove to myself that I can get it if I had enough patience and "determination + + " (which my brainwave friend, who is probably reading and laughing at this right now, told me, when I narrated this story). Call me intense, but I really had to go to the city to not cause further delays, plus the office was closing in 2 hours. It was one of those "NO, I AM NOT GOING TO LET THIS ONE GET DELAYED" moments.
I got back to the station.
It was still full!
Even the car which was ahead of me has given up.
It was still full!
Even the car which was ahead of me has given up.
I refused to give up.
I did one more round and then a car suddenly left!!!
I got his space, and I was able to go to the city, and do what I needed to do. Out of all the limited spaces, ONE SPACE was freed... And I said it was definitely for me because I asked for it and I was willing to get it no matter what.
So...
This post reminds me of my post a few years ago: LIFE HAS A SUSHI TRAIN
In that post, I wanted something that wasn't even on the sushi train. I can easily order it, but I didn't. I waited for it. And just when I was about to quit, it arrived.
This time around, I was determined to get that parking space. It took an hour. I didn't want to give up. I know... Why waste one hour of your life on waiting for something you aren't even sure of getting? Why not just let it go and wait for the next chance that you know has a higher possibility of giving you what you want?
Well... This time around, I learned that if I want it, I can get it if I believed I can get it.
It will take time.
It will take a lot of effort.
It will take a lot of patience.
It will take a lot of determination.
But I will get it.
I look back and realise how much change has happened in terms of me looking at life.
Yes, I did have a lot of patience before, but it was different this time around.
I was patient before, but it was more of a passive kind of patience. I was willing to wait it all out until everything just fell into place.
This time around, my patience had determination mixed with it.
I want this. I am patient to wait for this, but I am going to do something about it while waiting. I won't give up.
It's funny how a parking space had to be an example for this, but it's true. I realised how different I look at things now. Normally, I'd just let that go and hope that the next day would be better. But no. I had a goal that day. And I was going to reach that goal, and not delay it by missing a chance, which in this case, was that one car which left and gave a parking space to me.
In life, yes, there's always a next day. But if you can do something now, why not do it now? Those small actions lead to something bigger, and if you keep delaying, you keep missing chances that could have given you what you wanted.
Life has a sushi train... and a parking space. Bow. Haha!
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