Is kicking the can down the road a form of denial?
Paul White's nationally distributed syndicated column, “Is kicking the can down the road a form of denial?” is published in 22 publications across seven states. This includes the following newspapers and digital publications: Midland Daily News (MI), SFGate (CA), Seattle PI (WA), Connecticut Post (CT), Laredo Morning Times (TX), Huron Daily Tribune (MI), The Telegraph (IL), and more. In this week's article, Paul explores how kicking a can down a road never leads to a sustainable solution and offers guidance on taking things head-on — if you want to kick something, kick denial out of your universe.
You’d be hard pressed to find anyone that hasn’t picked up a smooth rock and attempted to skip it off the surface of a pond or lake at some point in their life.
The goal is to get as many skips as possible before the stone leaves the surface and sinks deep down to the bottom. Each skip represents a temporary avoidance of the inevitable.
When you’re casting a stone across the waters surface, the result you’re looking for is the simple joy of acquiring the most skips the stone has to offer given it’s shape, size, and smoothness. You also utilize perceived personal techniques that you create in your mind and attempt to transfer to your body as you throw in order to maximize the skip count total.
What about your life? How many things are you currently skipping off the surface unwilling to go deep to find a strategy that can work well both now, and in the future?
Think of kicking a can down the road. The can doesn’t disappear. As you attempt to move forward, the can is always there waiting to be dealt with, just a little bit further into the future. You really want to eliminate the can, but you’re unwilling to devote the time, thought, and energy needed to accomplish elimination, so you kick it a little further ahead. It ends up resembling throwing salt on a wound.
Ouch! Why would you do that?
Well, one reason is that we perceive no action is safer than any action. At least for now. There’s a flaw in that way of thinking. One that acts as a roadblock that prevents you from getting where you really want to go in life. It’s a blatant form of denial. Strange how what we fear doing is usually what we need to do the most.
Data obtained from analyzing thousands of years of history agrees with current data that “doing something” is always better than “doing nothing.” The skips of the stone on the water’s surface of our personal life challenges represents kicking the can down the road. Kicking the can down the road represents doing nothing. What are YOUR personal triggers that lead you to kick that personal challenge (can) down the road rather than picking it up and becoming determined to remove it from your path forward in life?
While triggers that prevent action are unique to each person, they’re having a negative impact on each and every one of us. Turns out “doing nothing” fuels frustration. It also fuels doubt in ourselves and hampers our ability to acquire perspective and technique that allows us to crush the can, defeat the challenge, and clear the path to joy and success. Turns out any action is always better than doing nothing, even if the action doesn’t work on the first try. Any action allows us to be one step closer to solution.
RIGHT NOW is the appropriate time to distance yourself from the electronic gizmo’s that control your life, locate a comfortable place that promotes going deep with your thought processes, and be honest with yourself about the cans you’ve been kicking down the road recently. Stop skipping them off the surface. Take action and develop a strategy that allows you to never kick that can again.
Don’t let that can be a hitch in your GiddyUp. Don’t let those surface skips distract you from going deep to where your best life is.
Respect the greatness your brain provides to you 24/7 and embrace its inherent ability to help you solve every challenge life tosses your way. There isn’t any challenge in YOUR life that hasn’t been previously solved by someone else so dive headfirst into researching potential solutions. Don’t deny yourself the unique abilities and gifts you possess. If you want to kick something, kick denial right out of your personal universe.
Honestly, I can’t resist the joy it brings skipping stones off the waters surface. Every time I skip one in the future it will remind me of the challenges I’ve dealt with “head-on” and the willingness I developed to go deep into the thought process of taking action to remove the can from my path to joy.
In the meantime, I WOULD LOVE TO HEAR FROM YOU. Please share with me the cans you’ve been kicking down the road, and what action you’ve taken to stop the skipping which has cleared a path for you to experience more joy in life. Let me know how it feels to be done with the kicking down the road. Who knows, your sharing may provide some fuel for me to write more about this topic. I’d be grateful if you did.
You can always reach me at the email address: coach@theanswerdiscovery.com and remember, I Believe in You! GiddyUp!
In addition to being a nationally syndicated columnist, Paul White is an author, motivational and inspirational speaker, entrepreneur, podcaster, and life coach located in Midland, Michigan. He offers self-help and culture development to start your journey towards consistent growth and joy. If you’re interested in getting in touch with Paul, please submit an inquiry via our Contact Page.