So here we are, episode 100. I

Can't really believe we've got to 100. I must admit. But now we've said it. It's real. We've done it.

It's amazing, isn't it? We've actually kept going

And

here we are. And

And it's exciting, isn't it? I mean, how often do you get to 100?

Yep. Yep. Brilliant. So in that time, I think last time we did a little episode, we were saying that we were coming up to the 50, 000 downloads. So we achieved that somewhere in the middle of the season. I forgot to keep track again. We've

busy. We've been busy.

So, so yes, we did achieve 50,000 downloads, and we also had the second anniversary or birthday of the podcast as well. So that was in the middle of February, that actually the Driving Confidence Podcast has been going for two full years.

And it's, it's quite an achievement really, isn't it? When you think two years of doing something, but also having fun.

learning loads,

And listening to so many inspirational guests we've had on as well, haven't we? It's never ending. And we know we're going to talk to people in the future as well. People are asking to come on our podcast,

yes,

which is like,

who would have thought it,

Yeah. Um, and normally it's just us two rambling on, isn't it? But how nice. And. The thing for me is that people are getting things out of this. Yeah. You know, we're not just doing it. You know, we've done a hundred episodes and people find them useful.

Yeah. So, for this episode, for episode 100, we didn't want it to just be us, but we couldn't quite organise a party as such because trying to arrange dates and times, just was too complicated. So, what we've done is we've gone back to some of our past guests and we've invited them to come and say hello. but to share a favourite tip of theirs with you, the listeners. So a piece of wisdom, a piece of advice, or their top tip for anxious, nervous drivers, or for building confidence.

Yeah, and I think, again, it's wonderful, isn't it?

Yeah. So hopefully you'll enjoy this little compilation episode.

Hi Kev, Tracy, it's David, Wellham here, huge congratulations on your hundredth episode of your driving confidence podcast. Such a brilliant idea and obviously it goes from strength to strength and it's definitely, helped me a lot and continues even though I passed in. August, 2022, I have appeared on podcast, episode 12, 33, and 80. and all the episodes I always listen to and pick up something useful to take away to improve and make me a more confident driver. So thank you for everything. If I was to go back on my driving journey, before I knew about, Kevin Tracy's podcast. I was really struggling, struggling to get over the line, struggling to work out what it was where I was going wrong on my driving assignments. Kevin Tracy opened my eyes to the fact that you need to really work hard on any test or assessment and particularly something as complex, not everyone gets straight away for driving. And this means I needed to, open myself to other ideas and I found the podcast and there was an episode about, forensically looking at your, driving and really sort of breaking it down and identifying what is it that, you're not getting or you're not improving on or that you're struggling, anxiety wise? So I I took it as a project and really worked hard. On about my fourth driving, assessment, although I didn't, pass, I found confidence. I printed off, the driving route and really did a debrief of the whole experience so that the next time I could get better and hopefully get over the line. Although, so it took me another, two attempts on my assessment. But by the 6th one, I was really flying and I felt so confident going in the night before. I told myself that I really had got this, I didn't tell many people. This, this is definitely a tip that I'd like to pass on. Tell as many, less people as possible. And You know, because that will, if you tell people, tell people at work or the family, this might put more pressure on yourself, to pass, and you might feel even worse if, if it doesn't go well. So, that's my advice. Tell as less as possible. And then. The other tip is, as I say, really debrief, and debrief with your driving instructor or someone positive, in your family or friend, someone you can confide in. Don't, don't tell everyone. But use, use someone's experience that is going to really help you and support you on your journey as you go from a learner through to, passing your assessment. Those, they're definitely the two tips that I pass on. And obviously with, Kevin Tracey's brilliant podcast, because as I say, even though I had passed in August 22, I still continue. To download the podcast, listen, and I always take something away that I could use so thank you once again, Kevin Tracy, for giving me the opportunity to, pass on my knowledge and experience and, continued success with the driving competence podcast. And. As, Tracy always says at the end, whatever you do, enjoy the rest of your day. Take care. Bye.

Hi, I'm Penny Ling. I'm a solution focused hypnotherapist and author of Driving Me Crazy, Overcome Your Fear of Driving, who appeared on episode 14. Over the years, I have worked with hundreds of people with fears, phobias, trauma, and a great deal of it focused on driving. But here's the thing. When we've delved deeper into the problem, It's been obvious that driving's not necessarily the main problem, but a symptom of others. It's all to do with your stress bucket. We can't put our anxiety in separate compartments. It all gets lumped together. It should be during sleep that our brains start to solve some of these problems. But if lack of sleep is one of the issues, that's where you start. Once you get your sleep sorted out You can then start to look at all the other things which are in your stress bucket. As you tackle these anxiety around your driving begins to decrease. If sleep is an issue, then go to my website at www.oxfordhypnotherapy.co.uk/tools and access my relaxation to sleep well. MP three. And you can start your journey back to full recovery.

Hi, this is Mangala from episode 27. Uh, I just want to encourage all of you just to keep going because becoming more confident in your driving, it is a process and I'm delighted to say that since I recorded my interview with Kevin Tracy, I feel so much more confident about driving and it just gets. Easier and easier. Since we recorded that episode, I have, uh, upgraded my car. I felt confident enough to test drive a new car and uh, go through the process of buying, buying a car privately, which I wouldn't have been able to do. a few years ago, and I've even thrown away my pea plates. So I just want to remind you all, there is hope. Just keep going, take baby steps. And the more, the more we do it, the easier it gets. It is just building a muscle. And I say this as somebody who used to have nightmares about driving and thought I would never get behind a wheel again. So it is possible. Keep going, everyone. You're doing awesome. Lots of love.

Hi, I'm Emma Cottington and I was in episode 54 of the podcast and I came to you to talk about journaling. My top tip for episode 100 is to use self reflection when you're learning to drive. So thinking about what happened on previous lessons in between the sessions so that your learning doesn't stop and isn't just happening when you're in the vehicle with your instructor. Maybe using a journal or some way of writing down or even voice recording yourself on your reflection will really help to embed the information and help you to process the things that's happening on your journey as you're learning to drive. This will make it so much easier and more productive for you. Best of luck!

Hi there, my name is Ella Dove and I was on episode 57 of the Driving Confidence podcast. I think the biggest thing I've learnt about driving is to have an end goal in mind that really motivates you and really fires you up. So for me this was Going for a nice lunch, um, at a posh seafood restaurant in Essex with one of my best, best friends. Um, now it was about an hour drive for me from where I live in Kent, um, including going through the Dartford tunnel, which was a source of worry for me. Also doing a route I'd never done before, which was the biggest thing that made me feel really nervous. Um, driving routes I've never done before that aren't my sort of safe routes, so to speak. But, the thought of this meal and this restaurant that I'd wanted to go to for a long time, and also the company of my best friend, really pushed me to, um, sort of, come out of my comfort zone and, um, to, to just really go for it. And I'm not saying I wasn't nervous, I was. Absolutely petrified, um, for days and days before I even looked into getting the train, which would have been a lot longer. Also, there was a train strike, luckily. Um, but I did it and I was so, so proud of myself when I did. Um, and thank you to Kev and Tracy for that. Hi there, it's Sam Harpy of Mindful Driver Trainers and I'd just like to congratulate Kev and Tracy on their up and coming 100th episode of the Driving Confidence podcast. I was really happy to join you both for episodes 43 and 95 and my top tip after being a driving instructor for 20 years would be to be patient. We don't all progress at the same time, so it's not always wise to compare ourselves to our friends and other people. And also, don't be afraid to try something a bit different. So, we all learn in different ways, and there might be something out there that you could try, maybe you haven't thought of, or your instructor hasn't thought of. So, it's good just to try different things, and be curious about, uh, experimenting, and find out what works for you on your learning journey. All the best. My name is Tracy Hannigan and I'm a qualified sleep therapist featured at episode number 74. My suggestions for you if you're about to book your driving test is to choose a time that works with your sleep biology. Don't book a morning session if you're a night owl if you can help it. And those butterflies you feel in your stomach? Instead of going around talking about how nervous you are about taking your exam, tell yourself that you are excited. Tell others that you are excited because you're about to open up a whole new world for yourself. You won't need it because you've practiced a lot, but good luck anyway.

Hello, my name's Alison and I'm a mindset coach and I was lucky enough to be a guest on episode 79. I really want to congratulate the Driving Confidence podcast, Kev and Tracy, on achieving 100 episodes. What a brilliant achievement. I was fortunate enough to be able to spend some time thinking about the things that I can bring to the table when it comes to driving and confidence around driving. I'm an expert in the mind and behaviours, so I, in this episode, have given a few top tips. Sometimes we need to trick our minds and think about something that we're really good at as we're just about to get in a car where maybe we don't know because the mind hasn't got a reference yet because it's a new experience. But you can trick your mind to believing that it's okay by focusing on something that you're already good at. I'm a big fan of focusing on small things and having little takeaways. So another tip I talked about was having, um, a takeaway that is around what went well in a driving lesson. Something that you can focus on. Instead of telling yourself what you don't want to happen, so you don't want to feel worried or don't feel anxious, make sure that you focus on the outcome that you want. And my last little tip that I talked about was stop comparing yourself to others.

Hello Tracy and Kev, thank you so much for having me back. My name is Ione Georgakis and I am the Therapies and Advocacy Manager at Tourette's Action UK and I'm also an adult with Tourette's and I was lucky enough to feature on episode 91 of the Confident Drivers podcast. Today I wanted to share with you my top tips for learner drivers with tics and Tourette's. Firstly, remember that most tics don't impact driving safety or skill. However, if you think you might have a tic which stops you from driving safely or interrupts your driving, discuss this with your doctor or professionals. When you do decide to start the learning process, make sure you tell your driving instructor about your condition. This can help to prevent you from trying to hide it or feel self conscious. Make sure you take frequent short tick breaks to release energy and reset your focus. Ideally, Have these brakes outside of the car to get some fresh air and some movement. Try and think about what time of day your tics are the most settled and schedule lessons for that time. And remember that it might seem like a really daunting task but millions of people living with tics and Tourette's have safely learned to drive before you and when the time is right, you can do it too. Thank you for listening.

Hi, I'm Chris Benstead from Theory Test Explained. I was on episode 93 not so long ago. An amazing congratulations to Kevin Tracy for reaching episode 100. That is no small step in podcasting terms and you've done some brilliant stuff helping huge numbers of people. Um, my massive tip for life, uh, for everybody listening is It's not wrong, it's different. So if you need to learn something differently, brilliant, learn how you learn and do it that way, do what's right for you. Um, if you have a worry, a concern, if there's something that is a bit of a problem, it's not wrong, it's just different and you need to tackle it. possibly in a different way. So yeah, that, that's my thing is, you know, do it differently. That's fine. If it's what works for you, you know, you best. So I hope that helps some people keep listening to the podcast because I know the work that goes into it and the amazing benefits that it brings. I wish you all the best and good luck.

And so before we wrap up, a massive thank you to everyone who took the time to send us a little recorded message for us to build this episode. We really do appreciate it. And we've loved having you all back on.

on. Yeah, and it's a big thank you from me, because I know some of the people we've asked are really busy. So, thank you again for your time and pressing record and sending it to us.

Yeah, that's great. And so we hope you've enjoyed that episode. if you need to get in touch, then our contact details are in the show notes as always. And all that leaves us to say is have a great day, whatever you're doing.