Are you stuck?

I was watching an Air show last Saturday from a neighbouring field whilst out for a walk. The grand finale was the Eurofighter which was impressive as always with its fancy manoeuvres and very loud afterburner jets. If I haven’t covered my ears before it flies past, I always ensure I do as it flies past or the noise will hurt my ears. I always feel the sound vibrate in my chest too.

I was amazed and also equally upset to see a horse that had been quite placid for the entire Air show suddenly run around the field in a loop going daft. I then realised that of course the horse’s ears and other senses are far more sensitive than mine and if the plane flying past hurt my ears and vibrated in my body then it would a lot more intensive for the horse. Each time the Eurofighter flew past it was incredibly obvious the horse was in distress. On my way home I was even more amazed to find a crow stuck behind a wire fence who appeared to have forgotten how to fly.

The crow was adamant that it wanted to go through the wire fence and kept forcing his head against the mesh, getting stuck each time. At first my partner and I were unable to see what the problem was. We thought it had a broken wing, then we thought it had a problem with one of its leg as it kept hopping. We soon realised that like the horse it must have been frightened with the Eurofighter flying past. We found a plank of wood to lift it up high enough to let it see over the fence, then sure enough the crow saw his challenge from a different viewpoint and flew away with ease.

The crow was quite obviously in distress over his challenge with the fence. He was unable to see any other way past the fence than walking through it, which was impossible unless he had some wire cutters! The way the crow was addressing the challenge was impossible with his available resources and skills but overcoming the challenge itself was not impossible. He just needed to be  lifted up to see the challenge from another perspective so he could then apply his abilities to the challenge.

It reminded me of how we can all get stuck with our business challenges when we get caught in our story of emotional distress and unable to see our way out. I have been in this situation before as have so many of my clients. What I have found works best for us all is to take a step back. Step away from the challenge for a moment or better still go for a walk, meet up with friends and relax or concentrate on something else for a moment. It also helps if we chat about out problem with a trusted business owner who will understand our situation, or a coach. Doing this helps us to see the challenge from a different perspective, and just like the crow when we are lifted up we are able to see that we just have to do what we know so well.

So if like the crow you are unable to see you way through your current challenge, either take a step back for a moment and move on to something else or do what you do best and fly, which you may find will get you through the challenge. If you are unable to do this perhaps think about the crow and how his solution was just simply to apply his abilities from a different angle. Alternatively ask for help from a friend, a trusted business owner or a coach to lift you up to see your challenge from a different perspective.

Call me today for a free consultation to see how I could help you. Details on how to get in touch with me can be found here.

© Helen Monaghan