Driving Therapy

Danial Naqvi
3 min readMay 28, 2018

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A sense of calm. A sense of quiet. Driving presents a mental challenge, but one which can almost silent thoughts. London is not a driving city. Didn’t stop me.

Me driving in London, UK

‘I stalled my car twice today. I reminisced three years prior to this instance every time I stepped foot in the car. I remembered the memories of time past. I stared forward. Checked my mirrors and drove on.’

Driving around consistently proves an actor is clearing my thoughts — allowing me to move forward with no regrets.

Whether I enjoy the Kent Downs or the cityscape of the British capital — there are no bounds to my enjoyment.

Anyone who has driven with me knows I have road rage.

It’s hard not to, especially in London, where minicab drivers and general idiocy creates life-or-death situations.

I continue to feed the road rage because instincts, agility and rapid decision-making can make all the difference.

People’s lack of judgement and awareness is a hazard and for the safety of myself and others — I make no apologies.

Inherently with road rage comes the release of repressed anger.

I tend to think a lot on these drives, despite the wailing of music in the speakers.

I drove into London today for a meeting with the QMGS committee at university.

The drive is simple, and I drive it without any issues nowadays.

As my brain is almost in auto-pilot, I can look towards the clouds and think about the big ideas.

A topic that often comes up is my position in life.

My entitlement (although I haven’t been calling this situation as such until recently) and my progress.

The day I realised that no-one owes me anything was the best day of my life.

Since then, I have lived a conscious-clear existence. I progressed further concerning self-development in that time than any other area.

It just so happens that my hard work paid off around that time too.

A big coincidence.

I thought about it all today.

Also, I thought about the wasted time. The wasted time I continue to nurture.

The nurturing that won’t stop. I’m trying to stop, but this procrastination is getting the better of me.

Tasks sitting on my list for weeks — remain. Not done.

And as my mind works around this problem, they still sit there.

One thing that makes me think is this:

What makes the ‘theoretical’ into the ‘practical’?

Money?

Not at all. It’s time.

Not even work. Not even hard work is the difference.

It’s patience and time.

I write a blog every day. I look at statistics to measure popularity and to see if there are things I can improve on.

Main traffic comes from Instagram, but I could create another avenue for marketing — I choose not to.

Time presents a complex which I’m struggling to conquer.

Work the 9–5, that’s eight hours.

Travel each way that’s another two hours.

Ten hours.

Allow seven hours for sleep.

Seventeen hours.

I leave myself with seven hours.

Usually spent procrastinating

I’m not as productive as I may seem, mainly when I’m in a thought-provoked mood.

The results you see may be as a result of work started months ago.

These are all thoughts I have while driving.

I don’t speak to myself; instead, I dream. I think big.

All thoughts that need attention and help me with the self-appreciation and self-love.

Driving can uncover your demons and squash them in a controlled explosion.

Driving therapy.

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Danial Naqvi
Danial Naqvi

Written by Danial Naqvi

Joint PhD Candidate Business & Management at Manchester & Melbourne| MSc UCL Science, Technology and Society | BA (Hons) QMUL Human Geography |

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