Military life has a way of grabbing your hand and foisting you into adventure with or without your consent. The adventure isn’t limited to the obvious (or the literal) like geographical relocation every three, two, or (gasp) one year. Adventure becomes the theme in which you live your life. The beautiful part about an adventure is that it challenges you to find new ways, or in the case of our fabulous partnership with Chevrolet this month, find new roads.
This month we are so proud to partner with Chevrolet for Military Appreciation month as part of their Chevy Salutes campaign. Chevrolet’s unwavering commitment to our service members, veterans, and their families is evident through their support of veteran employment programs like Shifting Gears, to provide eligible transitioning Army soldiers with skills to become service technicians at GM dealerships after they return to civilian life, and support of military-focused non profit organizations like Cell Phones for Soldiers and Achilles Freedom Team of Wounded Veterans.
If you’re thinking about finding new roads in a new car, all Veterans along with Active Duty, Reserves and Retirees (including spouses!) are eligible for the Chevrolet Military Program, the best military discount program of any car company.
Finding new roads is something that military families, particularly military spouses are really, really good at IM(not so)HO. So often we find ourselves standing at a crossroads in our personal and professional lives. Those crossroads present a few clearly paved and well-traveled roads like the “military spouse friendly career” or “it’s just a one-year assignment so sit tight and do nothing” or “there are no other military spouses out there like me so what’s the point in trying”. And many of us choose to travel those roads from time to time because it is easy, comfortable, and safer to do that.
I know I’ve traveled a few of those roads before. For awhile the roads were exactly what I wanted- a smooth ride. Eventually what I believed would always be a beautifully paved safe road to travel might abruptly transition to an unpaved road littered with potholes or even come to an unexpected dead-end.
As any responsible traveler would do, I’d pull myself to the shoulder to evaluate my next choice. Do I…
– Sit behind the proverbial wheel-of-life and cry? Done that.
– Stand by the side of the road and wait for a passerby to rescue me? Tried that too.
– Go alone on foot and hope for the best? Lonely, tiring, and sad.
or perhaps this:
– Buckle up that seat belt, rev the engine, and find a new road even if you have to pave it yourself.
Yes. That. Buckle up, buttercup. We’re going off road.
4 Ways Military Spouses Can Find New Roads in Military Life
1. Think Beyond What You Can’t See
In life, particularly military life, the only predictable thing is unpredictability. Sometimes the path of least resistance is choosing to live at the mercy of an unpredictable life. You’re not always going to be able to see around that next bend in the road but that doesn’t mean that you pull over and end your journey. Just because the road is tough now doesn’t mean that smooth sailing isn’t around the next turn.
2. Find a Travel Buddy
If there is anything that I’ve learned as a military spouse is that, even though I’m totally capable of navigating life solo, why the heck wouldn’t I want a partner (or two or three) along for the ride?
3. Turn off the GPS and Grab a Map
How many times has your GPS’s voice led you astray or caused you to miss a more direct path? Get off autopilot, grab a map, and chart your own darn path!
4. Don’t Be Afraid to Get Lost
I’ve found life’s most fabulous roads when I’ve been totally and utterly lost. Sometimes getting lost opens up a whole new experience and adventure that you might’ve never considered before.
Show Us How You #FindNewRoads On Instagram and Win With #ChevySalutes!
Starting today through May 17th post pictures and video to Instagram using hashtags #ChevySalutes AND #FindNewRoads for a chance to win one of three awesome cash prizes! Get out there and show us how you and your military family are finding new roads each and every day! Check out the official rules here.
This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of Chevrolet via MSB New Media. The opinions and text are all mine.
