Who’s Driving Your Bus? – An ACT Metaphor for Life
In Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), we often use simple metaphors to explain big ideas. One of the most helpful is the Driver of the Bus metaphor.
Imagine your life is like a bus journey. You are the driver. The bus is heading in the direction of what matters to you – your values, such as being a caring parent, a supportive friend, or someone who looks after their wellbeing.
But on this bus, there are also passengers. These passengers are your thoughts, feelings, worries, memories, and fears. Some of them are loud and scary:
- “You’re going to fail.”
- “You can’t cope.”
- “Turn back, this is too hard.”
They might shout, threaten, or try to grab the steering wheel. When that happens, it’s easy to let them decide where the bus goes. You might avoid things that matter to you – relationships, work goals, or new opportunities – just to make the passengers quiet.
The key idea in ACT is this:
You don’t have to kick the passengers off the bus to keep driving.
Thoughts and feelings can come along for the ride, even uncomfortable ones. You can notice them, make space for them, and still choose to steer the bus in the direction you want to go.
So instead of saying:
“I can’t do this because I feel anxious,”
you might learn to say:
“I feel anxious, and I can still take a step towards what matters.”
The Driver of the Bus metaphor reminds us that:
- You are not your thoughts or feelings.
- You can’t always control who gets on the bus.
- You can choose the direction the bus travels.
In counselling, we use this metaphor to help clients build confidence in living a meaningful life — not by eliminating discomfort, but by learning to move forward with it.
Because a full bus doesn’t have to stop you from getting where you want to go.
Please contact us if you have any questions and/or would like to start your counselling journey.