Take a Detour With Me
In rural areas, we like to joke that there are two seasons – winter and construction.
I know you’ve been there. You are on route to a destination and then you spot it – the reduced speed signs start, the warnings that a stop is coming up ahead, and then you see it: Detour signs to (hopefully) help navigate you around the hazard.
The tricky part comes when we are not familiar with the area and the detournavigation signage isn’t as clear and obvious as we want. How many times have I struggled to find my way on a new path, especially if it was poorly lit, in the middle of nowhere, in the winter, without cellular signal reliability? No phone-a-friend option? Fack. Was I expected to trust that these little orange signs would lead me back to my familiar path?
We face unexpected roadblocks or problems that diverge from what was planned or assumed every day, and yet for some reason, we also all know that detours are inevitable and consistent in the seasons of daily life.
What we may not realize is that detours are merely solutions to problems or hazards that we are facing or can anticipate facing. We need to navigate around them due to conditions beyond our control and that in most cases, avoiding the hazard is a good thing.
We have the chance to find an alternative path.
In the country, we call this off-roading. And it can be fun AF! I admire the quality of off-roaders – they purposefully choose to find new, unfound areas of the land and forest by taking paths rarely or newly travelled and that in fact, they anticipate the fun and adventure that can come with unexpected roadblocks.
They go to intentionally get stuck and dig their way out. They prepare for the inevitable obstacles. They use what’s around them to uncover resourceful solutions. They aren’t afraid of getting dirty to make it happen. And they have as much joy crashing into the mud puddles, as they do getting out.
Imagine if we looked at the obstacles and roadblocks of life and work in this way?
Expect that they are coming so much it feels like an invitation.
Trust that we can overcome because we are prepared and know our capabilities.
Take stock of the situation, add context, and bring clarity to what is truly in the way.
View the obstacle as an opportunity to think creatively and go with it.
Design a solution that might reveal a whole new adventure we couldn’t see before.
Carry-out the steps to get unstuck and uncover the next adventure.
Bring a friend
My private clients know exactly how my unpack, unlock, unleash strategic problem-solving method works in the same way. Sometimes their roadblock is unfulfilling work. Sometimes it’s a plateau in their business. Sometimes they are stuck spinning all the plates, wearing all the hats and they don’t know how to stop or change. Sometimes it’s because they are excited to go on an adventure and want to approach it in the best way for them.
Each of them wants a partner-in-crime to do the work with.
After all, who goes off-roading without a trail buddy anyways? There is safety in numbers, Rural Rebels.
Detour – it can be the delay you think will upset the day, or it can be the chance to embrace the alternative path and find solutions you couldn’t even see.
Pack the winch. Wear the boots. Let’s get unstuck together.
I’ll bring the jerky.
Ché
