Overcoming Obstacles

"There was something in the road."

• Annie Butterfield
  

Overcoming Obstacles

My daughter Annie is in the process of learning to drive and a couple of nights ago, just after she had driven home from the barn where she was riding, she told me that she'd seen a pile of dirt in the road. "It wasn't a large pile and I knew it wouldn't be a problem for me or the car so I just drove right over it." She had done the right thing in not allowing an insignificant obstacle to slow her down and it reminded me of the old saying, "Don't make a mountain out of a mole hill."

Many times, a person without a lot of driving experience will see a small mound of dirt in the road and panic; not knowing what to do. That can cause a whole new chain of events that may prove to be of much greater danger than the one originally faced!

Sometimes, even those of us with a lot of experience find small bumps in the road of life that tend to derail us. I've found this to be true in my work; especially when I'm faced with a task that I don't really want to do or that will take a great deal of time and effort. It's not that I don't know what to do, or that I can't do the work, it's just that my mind begins to grow the task into what appears to be a huge mountain that I can't possibly climb. And, that alone causes a chain of events that can become a much larger problem than the task itself!

I was thinking that if I faced this issue, you may face it at times as well so here are some steps that I've found to be helpful:

First, I try to recognize that I've become trapped in front of a "gopher hill." (I use the term gopher hill because I'm involved in a war with gophers in my yard and they've become the bane of my life!) I also use that term because their mounds are instructive to describe what I think is happening. A gopher mound has a sort of semi circular shape. So, if I was very small and stood in front of it, I could easily believe that I had become encircled without a way to escape. I must recognize that what in my mind appears to be true is simply an illusion.

Second, I've found that my largest hurdle is always just getting started. Once I begin to work on the task, that has been overwhelming me, I find that it isn't nearly as daunting as I had imagined. Since I know this about myself I've posted a sign in my office that says, "It's the job that isn't started that takes the longest to complete."

Finally, once I start I make sure I stay the course and focus on the task to get it knocked out and put it behind me. When I've completed it I allow myself to feel the relief and warm sense of accomplishment. That's also when I remind myself that I'll see many other gopher mounds in my life and that I am skilled at not letting them derail me.

As I keep following these steps I hope to become more and more like Annie. I hope to see a small bump in the road and just drive on past it as if it doesn't exist. And, I hope that what you see in your life will be small bumps as well!