Canada's Worst Driver Ever? Canada's Best Lesson Ever.
I absolutely adore Canada’s Worst Driver.
Often I hear, “But you hate reality TV. How can you watch that?” Or sometimes “I can’t stand that show. I can’t stand when they make fun of people like that.“ Or even, “I can’t watch the show, it terrifies me that people like that are on the road.”
Yes, it terrifies me that there are drivers out there like that. It particularly frightens me when I’m cycling beside some of those people. By the regular participation on the show from Calgarian drivers, that very well may be a literal interpretation of cycling beside them.
I’m certainly not making fun of a single one of them. I very much like the people they have from year to year. Sometimes they drive me crazy, some make horrible personal decisions, but in large they are very likeable people who are very, very bad drivers.
The culmination of Canada’s Worst Driver Ever comes tomorrow and I can hardly wait. I’ve very much enjoyed the approach they have taken with this season. Rather than pointing and laughing at the worst, the show continues to focus on training and celebrates the success each driver achieves. The big difference this time is we’ve seen them all before and this is the second go round for them. Today my son and I watched the second episode where we celebrated one of the drivers who took her ugly trophy home and used it to motivate herself into learning how to be a better driver. She was rewarded with a well-deserved graduation.
And there is the point I want to make tonight. Canada’s Worst Driver has taught me skills to improve my driving, yes, but it has taught life lessons along the way too. Who can forget Shelby riding a bike? Or Sly saying, “Look where you want to go… One of those things that the Dalai Lama would probably say.”
Life is learning. Life is driving forward. Take the opportunities at hand and leverage it to your advantage. If you’re going to be successful, follow through on the lessons, take responsibility and do your work. And above all, always, ALWAYS look where you want to go.
I’m hoping to see three drivers do well tomorrow. Should they drive poorly, I’m hoping they put in the effort this time to become safer, better drivers. See you on the #CWD hashtag tomorrow.