Need a Pothole Survival Kit?

By: Betsy Buckley

Posted on 03/09/2010 - 6:32pm | From the Growth Strategy Blog

It happens every March. State Basketball Championships. My sister Kate's birthday. The last (we hope) snowstorm. And potholes. Some of them huge.

Most native Minnesotans know what to do on the roads at this time of year. Slow down; focus attention on the road (not the potholes) and intention on stabilizing the car. We get that going through potholes (some huge ones this year on the River Road near the University) makes tires compress down. If thumping or vibrations start getting louder and louder as you zoom over speed bumps (and, there are plenty of them between the Weisman and the Hospital), the tire rim might quickly need repair or replacement, easily a $200 or more challenge. 

Beyond the money, so what? The meaning. That's what prompted my pothole passion this week.

As someone who spends much of her time trying to shift mindsets and affect behavioral change, I've learned the muscle of metaphor. And potholes--- and our responses to them--- offer some great principles. 

Find the Fun--- and the Funny. Most of us probably take potholes--- and a lot of other things--- too seriously. Twenty+ years ago, when I owned an old Volvo only one step away from the used car cemetery, there was no humor to be found when the tire rim didn't just bend, it fell off, and so did the tire. Yet, because another car simultaneously rear-ended me and my insurance was decent, I ended up with a settlement that let me unload the ugly car and replace it with a sterling Subaru, complete with sunroof. Laughing let me get through it in ways that whining never would have offered... and, with great stories to boot.

Ditch Distractions. It's all too easy to move into fight or flight after you've hit 5, 10, 25 potholes and ruined a few tire rims, or when potholes  present themselves while the March snow storms keep surprising us. What to do? The best survival kit is filled with things that soothe. Stop. Get out of the car. Recognize the unknown. Refuse to bend to the limits of overwhelm.

Diagnose Down. Change Up. When trying to figure out our work (or life) pothole dilemmas, three things need attention. First results, quickly followed by behavior and only last, mindset.

When we keep our eye on the potholes, we drive right into them. Not the preferred results. That behavior becomes patterned and we keep repeating it, until we shift our focus from the anxiety-ridden "I'm going to fall into a pothole" to the more leader- like "With my eye of the road, I can maneuver to avoid potholes" mindset.

Think of that order. Diagnose by looking first at results, then at behavior, and finally at mindset. Then, fuel change from the bottom up. Set a mindset shift solidly into your pothole survival kit. That new vision is what will encourage changes in behavior patterns and ultimately transform the new outcome into the right results. 

Got some contents for your pothole survival kit? Humor. Stillness. Diagnostics first, change next. It's mid March. We've still got games to watch, birthdays to celebrate, snow storms to settle in for and potholes to avoid.

I'm curious: Did the thought of your own personal pothole survival kit trigger any new thinking, metaphorically--- or  literally? Offer some insights? Get your growth genes going? Love to hear reactions, intentions and ideas.

And, if all else fails, read a little Star Tribune pothole haiku. Good for the soul... and the roads.