276. Which Light Are You? Discover Your Inner Traffic Signal

When it comes to traffic lights, New York City wins.

If you’re driving on almost any of the north- or south-bound avenues, all of the traffic lights are synced.

What I mean is that once one of the lights turns green, the next traffic lights down the road sequentially start turning green.

In a city filled with stops and starts, this is one moment where you can fly. You can zip through the blocks, one after another, without ever having to slow down.

The simple act feels like freedom. It makes me want to climb out of the sunroof and do my best “I’m king of the world!” Leo impression.

I want life to be like that. I want life to be a series of green lights that seemingly never end.

And this conveniently brings me around to you.
I love it when that happens.

The Three Colors of Life

I’ve determined that there are three kinds of people in the world and, as it so happens, they are consistent with the colors of the traffic signal. They are red light, yellow light, and green light people.

Let me explain.

First, there are the red light people. They are the ones who always bring things to an abrupt halt.

Red light people seem to spend their lives looking for reasons to complain.

Their behavior seems focused on stopping themselves – and others – from moving forward.

I find red light people frustrating. But that’s me.

I’m sure you know a red light person or two. Inevitably, you’ve probably worked with at least one of them. They are the ones who always think every idea is bad. But they can never come up with a better solution on their own. They seem to simply complain for the sake of complaining.

That is just how a red light person works.

Red light people continually use words like “can’t” and “won’t”. They aren’t looking for answers to the questions, they’re just complaining about the questions.

The red light people get stuck at red lights and complain that they have all the bad luck.

“I’m always the one that gets stuck here,” they say. As if they’re the victim. As if they aren’t responsible for their own attitude.

Once the light turns green, they are just waiting for the next red light so they can say “See?! I told you I always get red lights!”

Red light people make the yellow light people seem light and easy-going.

The Yellow Light Crowd

Different than the red light people, yellow light people aren’t overly negative. They don’t build barriers to block everybody, they just block themselves.

The yellow light people aren’t as much negative as they are cautious, but almost cautious to a fault.

They live in fear that a red light is right around the corner. They want to avoid the red light but are too scared to go faster, so they move through life slowly and cautiously – always with one foot ready to slam on the proverbial brakes.

Hypochondriacs, for instance, are yellow light people. Those chained by self-doubt are yellow lighters.

In my executive coaching business, I work with a lot of yellow light leaders.

Yellow light people want to get out of their comfort zone. They really do. They want to follow their dreams but, unfortunately, they quickly convince themselves the path is not worth the risk.

Yellow light people fear what happens on the other side of the comfort zone. They are intrigued by it but avoid it as if it were a monster hiding around the corner, waiting to pounce.

Whenever they start gaining positive momentum, the yellow light folks tap on the brakes to slow down.
Tap tap tap.

Safety and security is everything for the yellow light person.
Tap tap tap.

When yellow light people are stuck at a red light, they hype themselves up.

“At the next green light I’m going to drive forward fast,” they tell themselves. But inevitably, the thought of getting out of their comfort zone is too much to handle. The light turns green and they move ahead in measured steps.

But every once in a while, I see a yellow lighter break out of the pack and become a green light person.

The Green Light Person

I want to live my life as a green light person.

I want to follow the path that follows my passions. I want to grow and learn. I want to conquer my world and live every second like it will never happen again. Which, by the way, it won’t.

I want to get out of my comfort zone even though I’m sometimes scared to do it.

I want to expand my vision of myself and the world, to think with an open mind, and to know that I don’t know all the things I don’t know. And there’s a lot of them I don’t know.

I want to remember that the only struggles I can truly understand are mine, so I’m better off having empathy for everybody else, regardless of what corner they call home.

I want to do everything I want to do, nothing less and nothing more.

I have to admit, sometimes I drop back to the yellow light. I find myself living with hesitancy, afraid to press harder on the accelerator.

But when I recognize I’m doing this, I push myself back to the green. I’m happiest and most fulfilled in the green.

And when I’m sitting at a red light, waiting for it to change, I try to stay calm.

After all, every green light needs a red light respite. It helps us recharge so we can once again stream down the street, slipping through the series of green lights ahead with a smile on our faces and the feeling of freedom coursing through our veins.

The Light In Your Life

We all live our life by our own laws of the traffic light.

The important thing to know is that you are the person you want to be, whatever light that might shine. You see, you are the one – the only one – that decides the light in your life. You control the signal.

Are you telling yourself stories that stop you from taking chances? Are you moving forward with tentative steps, always finding reasons to slow down?

Or are you grasping onto the life you want to live and going for the green?

If you’re ready to sail through the green lights of life, sign up for the Free Masterclass on Accountability and learn the tools that let you press down on that proverbial accelerator, no matter what color your life may be.