Stuck in a rut?

I'm informed that there is a sign in a wild region of Alaska that reads, “Choose your rut carefully. You’ll be in it for the next two hundred miles!”

It reminds me of the occasion, one cold winter's day, when I was driving a tractor and trailer, loaded with bales of hay and bags of concentrate, for a flock of sheep.

I was making my way down a muddy farm track, the tractor winding its way through the fields, with just a couple of deep ruts to guide me along. In the tractor cab with me was Liz, the farmer's daughter. I was in my late teenage years and hadn't been driving tractors for very long. When I got to the field where the sheep were, I found that I couldn't get myself out of the ruts. Every time I turned the steering wheel the front wheels of the tractor would turn but would just continue down the rut at that angle as the back wheels drove them. I tried again and again, getting increasingly frustrated. Several times, Liz offered to have a go and said that she could do it, but I waved her offers away, determined to prove that I was up to this simple task. In the end, I admitted defeat and, now sure that it was impossible to get out of the ruts, vacated the seat for Liz.

You have to understand that what happened next is a bit embarrassing to recall and share with you!

Liz sat down in the seat, leaned forward and, with her right hand, unclipped the small metal bar that joined together the left and right sections of the brake pedal! ...I hadn't even realised that there were independent brakes for each of the back wheels!! She sat back in the seat, revved the engine, jammed her foot down on the left wheel brake and let out the clutch. The left wheel remained where it was - immobile - the right wheel turned, spinning the tractor around the axis of the left wheel and, a few seconds later, we were out of the ruts and heading over to the feeding troughs where the sheep were waiting for us!!

Hmmm.

When we're stuck in a rut it's often a good idea to let go of our pride and listen to what someone else is saying...it might make all the difference!

And sometimes we just have to decide that it's time we put our foot down, and do something about it!

It's not always that simple...but sometimes, actually, it is!