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Trees, a Tractor, and Me!

I was lucky enough to spend the majority of my summer in Kirkcudbright in Scotland. One day, on my way into town to get some new tyres on my car, I was confronted with the single track lane that I was driving along being completely blocked by a tractor, it’s trailer and some trees!
 
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I drew to a halt and smiled, thinking "I wasn’t expecting this, LOL!". This was something completely out of my control. There had been no prior notices to indicate that tree felling would be happening whatsoever. In the past, this may have had a less-than-positive impact on me - I may have sworn, got worked up, and been less likely to pause and work through my options. However, on this particular occasion I just laughed and said to myself “welcome to rural Scotland, Jacqueline!”.
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I think running my own business over the last 9 years has made me much better at applying Stephen Covey’s Circle of Influence model, especially in terms of pausing to consider what I have control over. What can I influence? What do I know I have absolutely no control over, and therefore don’t even start to allow a thought to enter my head? I'm much more able to just “let it go” (cue a well-known Disney song that is no doubt stuck in your head right now!).
 
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Spinning the Circle of Influence in this situation, I was able to influence the outcome as I did have some control over my options:

1. I could phone the garage to explain the situation and let them know I was likely to be later than arranged, and that I would keep them updated on my progress.

2. I could choose to just sit where I was and wait to see if the person felling the trees saw me and could let me know if it was going to be possible for me to pass, and when.

3. I could turn my car around and go out along another single-track lane which I wasn’t supposed to use, though I thought in this instance it would be OK.

After I called the garage and was sat contemplating my next move I noticed a car coming in the opposite direction to me, heading round the side of the tractor & trailer and going through a ditch, all the while not being deterred in the slightest that there were two vehicles in their way. This also made me smile!

I reversed back and away so that they could pass me - I'm not sure if I even needed to do this, but regardless - now I had another option!

4. Go into the ditch and around the tractor and trailer.

Often, the dynamics of a situation will change quickly. Be ready to react to these changes and take the best course of action when it presents itself.

Realise that there are often more things that you can influence than may first appear;
Aspire to do something different; be courageous and push your boundaries; and,
Do take action - make a decision and follow it through.

And that's exactly what I did in the end. It's definitely not something I might normally have done, but the situation presented another option and I decided "if that driver can do it, I can too!".

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