Drive Like Your Career Depends on It (Because It Does)

Written By Cari Borden

When it comes to surviving the twists, turns, and dead ends of our careers, I’ve always returned to one powerful metaphor:

Drive your performance the way you drive your car.

It’s a simple but transformational way to view leadership, growth, and decision-making, and it works at every level. If we treated our careers with the same care, awareness, and foresight we use behind the wheel, we might just avoid a few head-on collisions with burnout, bad decisions, or missed opportunities.

Here’s how this survival tip breaks down:

🚘 Rearview Mirror: Your Past

We all have one, and it’s there for a reason. The rearview mirror gives you a snapshot of where you’ve been. But staring into it too long will wreck your chances of moving forward.

Your past mistakes? Learn from them.
Your successes? Use them as road signs, not final destinations.

Survival Tip: Reflect, don’t relive. The rearview is for reference, not regret.

🪞Side Mirrors: Your Present

Side mirrors are about awareness. What’s next to you? What’s creeping into your blind spot? Is it safe to shift lanes?

This is where you gauge your current environment:

Are you taking on too much?
Are you veering off-course?
Are you paying attention to those around you before you make a move?

Survival Tip: Don’t ignore your present. But don’t let it distract you from where you’re going.

🌄Windshield: Your Future

The biggest, clearest, and most important view.

Your windshield is where your focus belongs, on the future, the possibilities, the road ahead. It’s where direction lives.
It’s also where the risks, detours, and destinations are waiting.

Are you looking forward, or are you just reacting to what’s behind and beside you?

Survival Tip: You get to choose the direction, so look up, look forward, and stay in your lane.

Final Thought:

You don’t have to be a perfect driver.
You just need to be an intentional one.

Leadership, growth, and career resilience all start with the way you see the road.

So next time you’re overwhelmed or unsure, remember:
Look back just enough to learn.
Check your surroundings so you stay aware.
And keep your eyes forward because your future isn’t in the rearview.

💬 Want more insights like this?

Follow for more leadership survival tips, and if you’re ready to shift gears in your career, you can find me on Fiverr for mentorship or coaching.