Thread the Needle

Just a few minutes ago I was driving back home from taking my 16 year old and two of his friends to camp and traffic was typical weekday morning traffic. At one point I had to cross one lane right and then immediately merge right to be able to take my exit. There was only a very short space to do so and it was going to be a tight gap to navigate without causing others to need to brake. I was just a tiny bit uneasy about it as it is a new car and it doesn't yet feel yet like an extension of my body and I could cause a wreck if I mis-gauged my speed or the size of my car. I took a quick breath and then slipped into the narrow gap and as I was slipping between cars, I thought to myself -- Thread the Needle.

Metaphorically, how many times do we need to "thread the needle" in our daily life? How often is it important to have a precision in situations with potential danger? When we avoid saying something because we want to say it "just so". When we want to ask for that raise or take that job. When we want to demand more respect or care from a significant other. When we want to learn something new and possibly embarrasing like learning to play the saxaphone or taking a dance class. When we put ourselves out there by posting our private and maybe not-so-cool thoughts on the internet.

How often do we take the risk and thread the needle?

How often do we just wait for the next exit?