When The Path Gets Blocked
I’ve been walking the same trail along the Snake River a lot lately. It’s one of my favorite places to reset, to think, and to feel grounded. There’s usually wildlife, a few fishermen, and an old railroad bridge at the end that somehow makes the whole walk feel complete.
As I was getting close to the bridge the other day, I noticed a large tree had fallen and completely blocked the trail. For a second, I honestly thought I might have to turn back sooner than I wanted.
But when I got closer, I realized I could still get past it. And in that moment, I was reminded of something my dad used to say to my brother and me whenever we ran into a problem growing up.
“Improvise. Overcome. Adapt.”
Because life is never a straight line. There will always be curveballs. Twists. Turns. Things you didn’t plan for and didn’t see coming. And how you show up when those moments arrive matters more than almost anything else.
Sometimes the answer is to improvise. You don’t quit, you just get creative. You find a different tool. A different route. A different way to get it done. You stop forcing the original plan and start looking for another option that still moves you forward.
Other times, it’s about overcoming. Rolling up your sleeves and doing the work. It might take longer than you expected. It might be harder than it “should” be. But you do it anyway. And along the way, you build resilience you didn’t have before.
And sometimes, the work is simply adapting. There are things in life and business that are completely out of our control. A diagnosis. A sale that didn’t happen. A new player in the game. A season you didn’t ask for. In those moments, we can shut down and walk away, or we can adjust to the new reality and keep going.
How we respond when life blocks our path reveals a lot about us. It shows our character, our determination, and our willingness to stay in it even when it’s uncomfortable.
So if something feels blocked for you right now, remember this: there is always a way forward. You just might have to improvise, overcome, or adapt to find it.
