I applied Mathew McConaughey’s red light, green light philosophy to my life…
It made me realized; I didn’t know how to live.
If you were driving, would you be surprised if you encounter red light?
I don’t think so, but that’s what’s going with us in our life, in real life. We are surprised by the red lights in our life. That’s what happened to me. Until I found Mathew McConaughey’s book.
Books are big part of my life. So, when I was looking for a new book to read, I opted for Mathew’s, after I read the reviews somewhere (his life is crazy, to say the least).
Red Light
In 2014, the company I was working for closed its doors. I was devastated. The experience was nerve wrecking because at that time, we have a todler in tow.
It wasn’t easy for us to look for job because we were transitioning from a student visa to a working visa. We were in limbo.
I took a job at the nearby community college to teach chemistry (yes, I’m a science major).
Then, I cut everything that I could.
Netflix.
Credit cards.
Prime.
No coffees.
My mindset was different at that time. I blame the management for mishandling the money that resulted in the closure of the startup company.
I blame the economy.
I blame my co-workers.
That was 2014, almost a decade ago. But today, I lost my job again. I was working for a state funded forensic laboratory. Then the lab was closed due to funding cuts (it’s a long story and more complicated than that, but the bottom line is that we lost funding, so we have to close).
Today though, my mindset was different.
I looked at it as another red light. That means I have to stop. Like you're in the road driving, you pause and wait. But in my life, I prepared when the green light comes.
I went job hunting, hoping for the best. I hit my connections and went for interviews and more interviews were brewing.
Currently, I’m still being interviewed, though I had to admit, I worry sometimes when I wake up in the morning. But I always look forward for the new day.
Red light means, preparing when the green light comes, so I hit the gym often, walked with my wife in the morning. I joked with her, we are retired for only a few months, so enjoy these moments.
Siesta, that’s my favorite part of the day, when I can sleep in the afternoon when I’m done with work (job application and answering emails).
My wife and I went for coffee and bagel in places that I didn’t know it existed in our community.
I read the books I been putting off for a long time. But mostly re-reading the book I read several years ago, reviewing the highlighted parts of the book, and meditating why I highlighted those phrases.
I meditate longer. Pray in the chapel and visit the gym (I think I mentioned that I hit the gym earlier).
This is the time when I open my notebook (like my lab notebook) and journal.
Most of all, plan.
Green Light
When I was in graduate school, I was working with a finicky LASER. One of our expressions was that when the ‘rubber meets the road’, just move on forward, until it’s not working anymore.
Get all the data we can get before the LASER acts up again.
When my life is moving forward again like a green light, I am ready. That’s because I planned, I rested, I took care of my health, my life, when I was stopped in a red light.
This is the time to read my entries in my journal, and then look at the goals that need to be done, before my LASER acts up again.
I worked on my side hustle and business again, because that’s what I wrote in my journal and planner.
