There was absolutely no way of missing him. I was going 45 miles an hour up the small mountain road to our cabin when a very large deer decided to join me on the road. This experience taught me the true meaning of the saying, “deer in the headlights.”
I did hit the deer with my car since he stopped to stare at our mesmerizing headlights. My daughter, Jeri, immediately worried about the cute, little, sweet deer, while I wonder how bad the car was dented after we hit this huge monster with fangs. Jeri obviously did not get a good look at this beast, and she also wasn’t the one who had to tell her daddy and call the insurance company. So my story stands with the fanged monster deer that froze in front of my tiny low-beam headlights.
The Price of Reluctance
Sometimes, based on our past experiences, we become reluctant to make decisions or take action for fear of how a similar situation turned out the first time.
I’m about to head back to the mountains, and I can already tell you I’m adjusting my schedule to make sure I head up the mountain when it’s still daylight. I’m now reluctant to drive up the mountain in the dark due to my recent experience.
The deer’s reluctance to take action and move caused our mishap. Reluctance in action or decisions can cause us, and those around us, grief. Here are some examples of real-life reluctance issues that are harmful yet happen every day in the business world:
- Reluctance to have a crucial conversation with a peer
- Reluctance to give harsh but honest feedback on a performance review
- Reluctance to invest in the growth of your people
- Reluctance to follow your dream
- Reluctance to try a new strategy
- Reluctance to change
- Reluctance to trust
All these areas of reluctance are due to a fear factor. Yet, by not taking action and becoming a “deer in the headlights,” we create an entirely new problem. Go back and read those points again and this time think about the outcome our reluctance brings.
An employee can’t grow and get better because of your unwillingness to be honest with their performance review. Weak employees stay while talent leaves your company because you’re not willing invest in their growth. You never achieve who God intended for you to be because you stopped chasing a dream. Your business falters because of an unwillingness to evolve, change, and trust your intuition of the market.
I’m sure we each have our own unique areas of reluctance, whether at work or home. Have fun thinking of them and then address them with authority and courage.
And really… what are the odds of me having another encounter with a fanged monster deer?
For all of you animal lovers out there, there is a happy ending. After striking the deer that night I turned the car around to go check on that “cute, little, sweet deer” that Jeri feared was bleeding to death in the road. There was no sign of him. We looked for a while that night and again the next morning. I’m confident the deer survived and is alive and well!
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