There’s a gauge on my car dashboard that lets me know how many miles per gallon I’m getting at any given time.

With the price of gas, I’ve been watching that gauge a lot lately. My gas mileage is not bad, but every time I have to stop at a traffic light, make a turn, or slow down, I immediately see that mpg number go down. As a result, I’ve been trying hard to avoid slamming on my brakes and instead make nice, smooth, slow stops and starts.

In fact, the other day as I drove to work I found myself thinking that if I could only drive without changing direction, I could sure save a lot of gas money. Imagine – just one smooth, efficient, straight drive.

Problem is, I can’t get to work if I don’t change directions. In fact, if I only go in the same direction, I not only can’t get to work from my home, I can’t get much of anywhere I need to go. What’s worse, I certainly can’t get anywhere I want to go without changing directions.

Changing direction consumes lot of fuel, a lot of energy.

That seems to be true in other areas of life, too. I can keep things as they are without expending a lot of extra energy. But to change what I’m doing requires that I stop, think, plan, and often requires much more energy and effort. Perhaps that’s why I don’t really like change all that much. But, just as with my driving, I can’t get where I need to go, and definitely can’t get where I want to go unless I do make changes from time to time.

Changing my diet, improving relationships, changing the way I handle money, all take extra effort. But will I get where I want to go if I don’t make the changes? Probably not.

Sometimes the extra gas required to change direction is worth it when I’m driving.

Sometimes the extra energy required to change something in my life is worth it too!