How do you navigate the potholes?

Doug asked, “What season is it?” I answered, “It’s spring, of course”. Then he suggested, “Well you are technically right but it’s also ‘pothole season’.” I agreed because of a recent experience I had as I drove home from our office. The car ahead of me was dodging and weaving on the road. I wondered if the driver was okay and I worried if he’d had too much to drink or was having a health problem. Then I realized what it was – he was just trying to avoid the potholes. Doug suggested that the driver was doing the “Pothole Polka”. Yes, that’s what was happening and I realized I had better get “in step” and do the “Pothole Polka” so I could also avoid hitting a pothole.

This got us thinking about what happens when you hit a pothole. It’s not good for your car and, as a metaphor, it’s not good for you when you hit a pothole in life, a difficult situation. On life’s road, you can think everything’s going well and then you hit a pothole. We realize that some of the areas where it’s easy to hit potholes are with health, finances and relationships.

To avoid those specific potholes, you can take some proactive measures. We all know the basics of health, that if we eat a healthy diet and exercise regularly, these practices will serve us well. We can be more resilient when we hit a pothole in life that puts demands on our minds and bodies. With finances, we know the value of “saving for a rainy day” by putting some money away each month so we’re ready for the unexpected pothole. Looking at priorities will help with the decisions about where that extra saving will come from. As far as relationships, we can keep nurturing the relationships that matter to us. Then when something like a serious disagreement happens that seems like a big pothole in life, we are able to get through it and the relationship can actually become stronger and more loving.

There’s a meaningful quote by Maria Shriver, who has certainly experienced a few potholes in her life. She said, “Love and laughter are what you need most in life. They’ll fill all the potholes.” For us, we agree that love and laughter are certainly helpful. We also find that getting caring and support from your faith, family, friends and even your furry little pet, can give you comfort. Sometimes a specialized expert, when needed, can also help you navigate the potholes of life.

We talked to some people at Tires Plus about potholes and the effect they can have. We met Marty Burley and asked him what happens when people hit a pothole with their car? He replied, “It’s usually not good news and it happens a lot. We live in Minnesota. One of the things that can happen is that you can damage your tire and damage your rim.” To show what can happen, Marty held up a tire that looked like it had been torn in half. He continued, “If it’s not dealt with, you could have a blow out and if the tire doesn’t blowout, then it could blowout down the road. You could have other damage – control arms, ball joints, shocks, brakes and a lot of things”. We asked if dealing with the problem sooner than later is better. “Sooner than later,” Marty advised, “because most of the time, from my experience, when you hit a pothole, nothing good happens. It’s always something bad and if you put it off, it could be worse in the long run.”

Then we met Adam Soberski. We asked Adam about the potholes in life, what they can do to you and how to avoid them. He shared, “Potholes are unavoidable. Sometimes they can define a person. If you hit a pothole, you’re going to get shaken up a little bit but you keep on going. It may build you up so you’re prepared for the next pothole to come. Life is full of potholes, it just depends on how you go through them and how you go around them. You learn from them.”
We heard some good advice about navigating the potholes with your car and in your life. What about you? Are you navigating some potholes?

Here’s a challenge: We encourage you to prepare to navigate the potholes of life. Avoid them when you can but if you hit some, use love, laughter and the resources you need to get back on the smooth road of life again.

Chanhassen residents Doug and Lynn Nodland are Success Coaches and owners of The Balance Center. They can be contacted at WeCare@SharingLifesLessons.com

© Doug and Lynn Nodland 2018 Articles and videos may be shared in their entirety with attribution.