The Best Way to Go? Find Your Own Road

Do you have a favorite coffee mug? I have about six—with at least two in reserve! And I apologize if I’ve inadvertently dissed any of my tea drinking friends. I know you have your go-to ones too!

Our favorite mugs can reveal a lot about us.

And some have great stories. The mug I grabbed from the cupboard this morning has a caption that says, “Find your own road.” It has an image of a SAAB 900 convertible with the top down, winding through the hills with a family onboard, headed for the mountains in the distance.

“Find your own road” was the theme of SAAB in the 90s. 

As a former SAAB 900 owner who dearly misses that machine, I’ll tell you that finding your own road was the whole point of driving one. (I have owned three, by the way).

This post isn’t meant to be a plug for SAAB Cars USA. It’s not that at all, even though I’m obviously taking a drive down… er, uh, will he say it?… memory lane. Arrggghhhh!

But I’m completely catching a ride on their theme (I’m so sorry).

Here’s what a Saab said about their drivers…

They are highly independent, they wanted to do things their own way and tended not to care about social convention or the status value of a car,”

— David Krysiek, former Director of marketing for Saab Cars USA.

And that’s completely true. My peers were aspiring to BMWs and Lexus’s (Lexi?). I didn’t want to drive what everybody else was driving. I’ve always been the independent type in choosing what I buy and what I do. And when it comes to what’s ‘in’ or what the cool kids were driving, well…

That stuff simply didn’t matter too much.

So, you know what did matter? And still does! Things like…

• fully experiencing this life with those important to me,
• always learning about and exploring new things,
• consciously deciding what’s right, and right for me,
• avoiding what ‘most people’ choose just because it’s popular,
• seeking value in transactions, and of course,
• doing things my own way.

Yes, ‘find your own road’ has always resonated for me!

That’s why I love that mug. I’ve had to get over not being able to drive a SAAB anymore. They finally met the fate of being the odd one on the road and ran completely out of gas after the financial crisis of 2007-2008. (May we pause for a moment?)

Yes, our choices can reveal a lot about us as can our favorite coffee mugs. Many of those special things that we can’t seem to let go of remind us of important stories from our lives. Some even speak of what matters most.

I apologize if this post doesn’t help your downsizing efforts…

Then again, maybe it will? You decide. Follow your own road, my friend… you’ll be sure to get where you’re going.

Be untucked.

p.s. Maybe share the story behind your favorite mug in the comments section below?

p.p.s. If you enjoyed this post, you might like this one too. It’s about taking a ride in the car just for the pleasure of it.

p.p.p.s. SAAB’s commercials and memorabilia from that campaign were artfully animated by well-known artist and illustrator, Jeanne-Philippe Delhomme.

Copyright © 2021 Jeff Meister – All Rights Reserved