New to an area or just finding yourself lost more often than you would like. There is a remedy! All it takes is the courage to explore. For some, this will be more about the courage, and for others, you may look at this and say who has time for that, but it is much easier for you (with both arguments) to muster it up and go for it. Practicing your route can give you several benefits.
Time saved
How many times have you lost yourself, gotten turned around, taken a wrong turn (because really who can keep it straight when your app is telling you to turn in 500 feet), or sat in a parking lot waiting for your maps app to find out how to get you where you want to go? Add all these together, and you may be surprised at what you find. The average driver can lose themselves and end up driving an extra over 250 miles per year. Still, think you don't have the time to spend just driving around your area to become familiar with the roads?
Courage found
Let's say that you get lost going from home to work. This event happens on a regular basis, and you have just come to figure that you will get lost anywhere no matter what. Being lost does not have to be the case, as given enough of an opportunity you too can develop a sense of direction. All it takes is a chance to focus on your surroundings instead of the traffic around you or what's happening that day.
Start driving
The suggestion would be to determine some areas that you travel to (or get lost in) more frequently. Pull up your GPS, find a couple of base points that you know and then start driving around. You can choose a particular pattern that you want to try to drive or just aimlessly turn at different roads; this part doesn't matter. What matters is that you are paying attention to landmarks, layouts, and some major road names and intersections as you drive. You may wonder if this will honestly do anything for you later, but you will reap the benefits next time you are driving in that area and remember that 7-eleven or funny shaped building that give you a point of reference and enable you to get back on track much faster than you would have otherwise.
Another drive, another chance
Give yourself a few trips around and reap the rewards of your courage and the extra time that you will now have by not being lost as much. You will also get the chance to learn places that are around you and, if you choose, to give you a fun time with anybody that comes along for the ride.
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