Sometimes things just don’t go to plan.
An obstacle or a setback is placed in your path.
At the time it can feel like the end of the world. Fears and doubts rush in, those feelings of not meeting expectations or not feeling good enough.
I remember when I injured my knee as I neared the 2,000km mark on the Te Araroa trail down the length of New Zealand.
Three British blokes were nice enough to help me get back into civilisation with the offer of a water taxi and a car ride.
I followed them (ie hobbled) down to the hut where we would stay the night before coming out. And before reaching the hut we stopped next to the river and had a glass of wine (as you do).
They left me to drink my wine and I watched the river, the way it raced, the way it flowed, on a journey towards a destination it couldn’t see.
And in the middle of that river was a rock.
It blocked the flow.
But it didn’t stop it.
The water just found another way around it to continue on its journey.
And that’s when I had an epiphany.
Problems or obstacles or setbacks are like the rock in the river blocking the path.
We are the water.
And like the water, we have the ability to overcome those problems, obstacles and setbacks to find another route to continue on our journey.
That’s when I knew injuring my knee didn’t have to stop me from finishing the trail.
It just meant I had to seek out a new path.
And that is what I did.
Is there a problem or obstacle you’re struggling to overcome in moving forward? I can help. Contact me for a free discovery call to see how we can work together to find a new path.
Thank you for sharing your powerful and relatable story, reminding us that setbacks and obstacles are simply opportunities for growth and finding new paths in our journey, and your writing beautifully captures the resilience and determination required to overcome them.
Thank you for your kind words. At the end of the day a setback, obstacle or problem is only a setback, obstacle or problem if you think it’s a setback, obstacle or problem.
Yes, I completely agree with you
I really like this analogy. It is much more relatable than my old standby – there is more than one way to skin a cat. I am most definitely a river at present, although sometimes it feels like I am a little pool of non-progress beside the river bank. But I can see that that little hiatus can be used to plot a different way to accommodate the river rock. Thanks, Katrina.
There’s definitely more than one way to skin a cat and also more than one way to be a river – a raging torrent, leisurely and calm, an eddy where it feels like you’re stationary or going backwards, falling off a waterfall, or flowing with purpose. It’s all part of the journey, all part of life. Bottom line is recognising the power and potential that that water inherently has. That is in us too.
Motivational post, thanks for sharing.
Thanks. Glad it resonated.