I noticed this week that there are times when I can become paralyzed by my work, with an inability to make forward movement on things I really need to do. 

Some equate this to being like a deer in the headlights. And since I have experienced first-hand a deer in my headlights, I kind of agree with the analogy.

I remember a time driving a van full of high school students through the mountains in BC. It was just after dusk and the darkness of night had set in like a heavy blanket over a table … where there is no light getting through under that table. 

As we were driving on a winding stretch of highway, we came around a bend and there they were, maybe 30 or 40 elk. 

Some were on the edge of the road, some in the ditches on either side. But they all just stopped and looked at the headlights of our vehicle. 

None of them ran away. Fortunately, none of them started to charge our vehicle. 

They were motionless, but all had their glowing eyes fixed on our van’s headlights.

Most animals in that situation would make a dash for the trees. They would flee the scene, but not deer or, in this case, elk. They stood still, motionless and didn’t move. 

The human version of deer in the headlights is a little different … at least for me it is.

I’m not actually motionless. There are things I’m doing.

Anyone looking on can see that I am working away. I’m getting things done.

The difference is I’m not making progress on the work that has me paralyzed. I will do anything but the thing that has me overwhelmed at the time. 

It’s like when you were a kid and your mother said you couldn’t get up from the table until you finished your vegetables. 

You sat there playing with your food, teasing your sister, bugging your brother or conspiring with him to sneak under the table and be freed from your prison. 

You did pretty well anything and even nothing so you didn’t have to eat those vegetables. 

With work, this scenario can go on for a long time. There can be something that paralyses you for a day or a week or even longer. You make excuses that other things have come up, but really the issue is you just can’t get yourself to work on that assignment. 

For me the solution is to break it down, to force myself to do one small thing towards that deer-in-the-headlights assignment. 

What I do is take a few minutes to break the assignment down. I break it up so that the first thing I do may only take ten to fifteen minutes. 

But then I’ve started and now the other little tasks of the big assignment seem to be doable. 

After completing one or two of those small tasks, I am no longer staring mindlessly at the headlights of the oncoming deadline – I’m getting back to work! 

Here’s the thing: There will come a time when Christ returns. And for some, that experience will be a deer-in-the-headlights experience. They will be overwhelmed and paralyzed and won’t be able to make any move towards Christ. It will be too late. Now is the time to think through what Christ has done and what He offers you. Then make a move towards placing your faith in Christ. 

That’s Life!

Paul

Question: What puts you in a deer-in-the-headlights situation? Leave your comments and questions below.

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