Today, on Teacher’s Day, let’s expand our definition of learning and take a moment to focus on the different things we learn can from our teachers. While they impart knowledge on a range of subjects, they also often end up teaching us important values that stay with us for decades. Similarly, we can expand the definition of a teacher to include not only those that instructed us in formal settings but those that taught us life lessons beyond that too. An unexpected candidate, as per this definition, is your car. As a trusted companion you spend tons of time with your car. And inanimate though it may be, it can teach you a lot. 

1. Don’t ignore the signs

An important lesson your car teaches you is to pay attention to warning signs and attend to them instead of procrastinating. Your car relies on its many thousands of parts to work well, and if it identifies a problem with any of them, it will let you know through alerts or warning lights. Or in the case of MG’s connected cars (like the MG Hector 2021), via notifications on the i-SMART app on your smartphone. Ignoring these signs almost never ends well – you can be left with a hefty repair bill, or worse, stranded mid-journey. This is a lesson most of us can stand to apply in multiple other spheres of our lives: if there is a task at hand or a problem that needs solving, finish it off! Procrastination will simply delay the inevitable, not make it disappear and that could be a much bigger problem.

2. Don’t feel afraid to ask for help

Many times in life, especially on the road, things go wrong. And when things go wrong, you shouldn’t hesitate to ask for help. Imagine you are on a road trip, and your car overheats and compels you to pull over. You can’t drive the car until you figure out the issue and fix it. Chances are you either lack the tools or the know-how to solve the issue on hand. Your best bet is to call roadside assistance. Fortunately, this comes bundled with your MG car for 5 years if you opt for the MG Shield program. Pride or shame would not really help you move forward. This anecdote applies to life too. There might be several occasions where you find yourself stuck or marooned. In such situations, go ahead and ask for help because it’s much better to get out of a fix than keep wallowing in it.

3. Bad roads reach the destination too

While on the road, you might occasionally have to weather bad, uneven roads to get to the destination. Bad roads are no fun for the driver, but they are even worse for the car. However, the car will always diligently power through because bad roads, like all setbacks, are temporary and a part of the journey. They, too, eventually lead to the destination. Life, like a car journey, is bound to weave through bad patches. Follow your car’s lead and power through; it’s all worth it when you get where you want to go.

4. Get a head start

As a driving enthusiast, it’s very likely that you’ve uttered the words, “Let’s leave early so we can beat the traffic.” Getting a head start on a car journey is great; you usually have the roads all to yourself – well, not entirely, but more so than the middle of the morning. There’s a life lesson in this too – we all have “destinations” to get to, goals that we have to accomplish. The faster you start working towards them, the smoother the journey towards accomplishment will be. There will be obstacles along the way, but the head start will give you more bandwidth to deal with them.

5. If you feel lost, use navigation

We would all like to have a fantastic geospatial sense, but the world is a big place, and it’s only natural to feel lost sometimes. In such situations, it makes complete sense to halt and ask for help with directions. The journey might certainly be great, but the destination does matter as well. Life is not too different; it’s a big, complex experience, and sometimes we get lost in this vastness. Tune into your lived experiences and use them as a tool to guide you, to help you find the right way out. And if you need a helping hand, go ahead and ask. 

We learn something new every day, and this new learning can often come from unexpected teachers. For all our teachers, people and cars alike, we must bear great respect. What they do is lofty, and in many of our cases, life-changing.