Can Achiever Trump Focus at a Quarter of a Tank?

Who runs out of gas these days? There is a gas station on at least one corner of every intersection in the United States. What is wrong with me and why do I continually run out of gas? It has to be one of the most irresponsible things in the world and it could be so easily avoided by simply filling up my tank on a more regular basis. It’s not like running out of milk or dog food. I’m a mom. I went to college. This should not be a reoccurring problem that I have… and yet it is.

I confess that I have run out of gas several times in just this last year: once in the school drop-off line, once on the way to an important formal event (and I was in heels and a formal dress), once on the way home in the entrance to my neighborhood with my kids and several of their friend in the car, and once on the interstate (walking distance from a gas station). It isn’t a good excuse that I have put 30,000 miles on my car in the last year while barely leaving the zip code where I live, but that’s all I’ve got. That, in addition to friends who willingly, drop everything, and come rescue me with a can of gas.

Apparently, I can get so incredibly focused on what I am doing next and where I am going that something like stopping for gas seems like an annoying distraction. It is one I like to put off for later—sometimes too much later. Strangely enough, I have decided to finally accept the fact that stopping to put gas in my car is a critical necessity. I heard a friend say that she always gets gas when she hits a quarter of a tank so I think that will be my new “out of gas” marker. With this new rule I have set for myself, I am hoping to rely on my Achiever strength and the accountability it provides to help achieve the goal that I have now set for myself. Along with dog food and milk, I will be adding "fill the tank" to my weekly grocery list. Stay tuned for an update...