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A couple of years back, I was driving from my city of residence to another major city in a faraway state. The journey was to take me about four hours (on average) driving through the federal highway. Before I set out, I made sure my vehicle was in the right shape. I hit the road and was cruising towards my location. Aside from the bumpy part of the road, I was having a stress free journey until I noticed something that caused me some distress.

I looked at the dashboard and noticed a warning indicator blinking on my fuel gauge; my fuel had gone into the reserve. And I could not see a fuel station in sight. I knew the reserve could take me through another 20 miles but that calmness I had all these while sublimed into thin air. I began to pay serious attention to everything I did; I switched off the air conditioner, I slowed my breaking acceleration to conserve fuel. Within a few minutes, I lost all the composure and calm I had about my trip. I knew what I had in my reserve could take me some distance before I ran completely out of fuel but for the fact that I did not know how close the next fuel station was, it got on my nerves. I had to park my vehicle to avoid the engine sucking in some air that could result in damages that could cost me more money. Memories of people packing their vehicles and running out with a gallon in hand in search of the closest fuel station flashed through my mind. The difference this time was that I found myself in a location that was highly dreaded because of the recent activities of hoodlums within the vicinity. I knew right away that I had goofed; I did not pay attention to the volume of fuel in my tank vis-a-vis the distance I was to take that day.

My day switched from good to worse in a twinkle; this is just how life is.

REFLECTION
Do not run your life until you are left with just little in your human reserve. Just like the situation I got myself into with my car, I have seen people live their lives with neither a plan nor a purpose. They simply go rudderless and continue to live as the spirit leads them until one day, they flash a look at their version of the fuel gauge and realize they have gone into 'reserve mode'. Much like I scaled down the volume of activities to conserve consumption, you see people reset to a mediocre way of living to accommodate whatever value they have left in their life’s tank. They switch off the air conditioner of their lives, slow down on activities that could bring them more wealth (due to paucity of funds) and are forced into reducing their standard of living all in a bid to accommodate the resources at hand.

No matter how much you make, you will definitely run into trouble if you do not save a part of it. What you save (and then invest) determines how much you store in your reserve. Your reserve should have in it at least your basic monthly expense for six months. You must keep an eye on it. Do not run out of fuel in the middle of nowhere.

Keep your eyes on the dashboard of life!

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