Go THROUGH The Deer

Since I was 8 years old, my family has spent every summer in the Catskill mountains in upstate New York. It's a gorgeous area with hilly, windy mountain roads, lakes and tons of trees. There are bears, birds, fish, cows, horses - and deer. Lots of deer.

My dad is terrified of the deer, or to be more accurate, terrified of what happens if a deer rushes out onto the road while we're driving. This is fair, as deer have been the cause of many accidents in the area. They are particularly active at night, and there ain't no lights on these country roads. When I first started driving upstate, my dad made me swear that if I encountered a deer, I would drive THROUGH the deer, intentionally hitting it on impact. In a car vs. deer scenario, this is supposed to have the best outcome.

Obviously, the thought of killing a deer is not a pleasant one, and my dad has no interest in harming deer. His rightful concern was that in swerving to avoid hurting the deer, a driver could hit a tree, another car, or flip the car over, ultimately leading to a worse accident. I promised I would go THROUGH the deer.

For whatever reason, the phrase 'go through the deer' has stuck with me, and taken on a different sort of meaning. To me, it is about confronting things head on. Whether it is a difficult conversation that you're avoiding, a task that you have been putting off, a decision that you are going back and forth on -- it is in your best interest to just do the thing, even if it will be uncomfortable. Go through the deer.

Being a business owner has forced me to become a 'go through the deer' person. Left to my own devices, I would rather avoid tedious tasks or unpleasant conversations and 'swerve' out of the way --- which may serve me in the moment, but ultimately create more damage.

The same applies physically. We know that addressing an injury in its early stages has the best outcomes and more favorable prognoses.

Still, the consequences of avoidance are not always apparent at first.

"I'll start exercising in January" or "I'll give up drinking after the holidays" are both great avoidance techniques; we give ourselves the leeway to continue to make poor choices on the grounds that the eventual changes we intend to make somehow negate the consequences of our actions in the present moment.

I'm not here to take away your holiday favorites or scare you into thinking that every ache or pain demands that you need to visit the clinic immediately. But I think we can all take a moment and be honest with ourselves, and consider how our lives may be better in the long term if we simply go THROUGH the deer.

THROUGH our problems, instead of circling around them. Intentionally navigating feelings and situations that may be uncomfortable in the short term, but ultimately serve us in the long term.

For me, that white whale was getting a treatment table reupholstered in the clinic. Seriously. IYKYK. I have a tendency to put off small chores that seem more tedious than they actually are.

A couple (ok, more like 10) phone calls later, and that table is slated to be fixed this Friday! I am very proud of myself.

I invite you to consider how your life may be impacted by confronting things, big or small, head on. Said Robert Frost: "The best way out is always through."

In seatbelt safety,

Amanda