Woman Locks Herself *IN* Her Own Car…

April 3, 2009 - 2 Comments
Categories: Ding!, Motivation & Success

Here’s a story about a woman who was locked in her own car because the electric system was shorted and the “open locks” button wasn’t working. She called 911 and was concerned because it was getting hot and she was starting to not feel well.

The 911 Operator: “Are you able to pull the lock up and open the door?”

Woman: “Um, ok. I got that going. Ok.”

911 Operator: “Are you able to get out now?”

Woman: “Yes, I got the door open. Thanks…Sorry.”

Locked herself in her own car and didn’t tink to reach up and use her hand to unlock the door. Amazing.

You can not make this stuff up

The Lesson: Step #1 in the step-by-step process of improvising with anything is to focus on outcomes first, details second. In this situation, the woman was clearly focusing on details. She always used the “open lock” button, but that wasn’t working. She never took her focus off of that detail.

A simple refocusing on the outcome of “opening the door” would have led her to ask the question “how else can I unlock this door?” The answer would have been self-evident.

Here’s a question for you: What metaphorical “car” are you curently keeping youself locked in because you are focusing on the wrong thing?

P.S. If this story sounds familiar, it might be because you watch the Family Guy:

Life imitates Art…

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2 Responses to “Woman Locks Herself *IN* Her Own Car…”

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  1. Jeff Porten
    April 4, 2009 at 8:03 am

    Not to cast aspersions on a perfectly good “stupid idiot” story, but I kind of wonder about this one. She called with complaints about heat and not feeling well; perhaps what happened first was her mild disorientation, which manifested in forgetting how to unlock her door?

    True story: from time to time, I am unable to board a down escalator. Don’t know why, and it’s rare, but I lose the muscle memory it requires, and the first step feels like I’m about to plummet down a flight of stairs. That might be a DING, or that might be something where everyone is equally served by my not proceeding to become the bowling ball with everyone else as a tenpin.

  2. Funny videos
    April 12, 2009 at 12:26 pm

    True story. I like it .

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