833 - Experience Creates Confidence: What a 1,000-Mile U-Haul Trip Taught Me

Last weekend, I did something I had never done before.

I drove a 15-foot U-Haul more than 1,000 miles from Northern Kentucky to Fort Worth, Texas, while pulling my daughter’s 2015 Toyota Corolla on a tow dolly.

For weeks leading up to the trip, my mind was rehearsing everything that could possibly go wrong.

What if I had to back up?

Would I be able to navigate gas stations?

Where would I park overnight?

Could I make it through narrow construction lanes?

What would it feel like driving with 18-wheelers on either side of me?

I did what I could to prepare. I watched videos, asked questions, learned how to secure the car, and got advice from someone who had done it before.

But there were some things I simply could not learn ahead of time.

I had to get behind the wheel.

At my first fuel stop, my nervous system was in overdrive. I asked my wife and daughter not to talk while I figured out how to maneuver this entire setup through the gas station.

And then I did it.

Nothing terrible happened.

The second fuel stop was easier.

By the fourth or fifth stop, my attitude had completely changed. What had felt overwhelming only hours earlier was becoming normal.

Eventually, I was driving at highway speeds with an 18-wheeler on my left and another on my right, and it felt like no big deal.

The U-Haul had not gotten smaller.

The tow dolly had not gotten narrower.

The Corolla was still hanging off the back.

The roads had not changed.

I had changed.

I now had experience.

My mind had wanted confidence before I had the experience, but it was the experience itself that created the confidence.

Every mile gave me evidence.

Every fuel stop gave me evidence.

Every narrow lane and every turn gave me evidence.

And even when something actually did go wrong and we had to replace the tow dolly along the way, I discovered that I could handle that too.

This experience reminded me of something that applies to so many areas of life and business.

Sometimes we are mentally rehearsing something over and over, waiting until we feel confident enough to begin.

But maybe confidence is not what we need first.

Maybe we need to get behind the wheel, pull out of the driveway, and allow experience to give us the evidence that thinking never can.

What are you mentally rehearsing right now?

What are you waiting to feel confident about before you begin?

I’d love to hear what it is for you. Email me at cliff@cliffravenscraft.com.