I made the mistake a few years back of swerving to avoid a deer and ended up in a ditch with a messed up front-end and two flat tires.

I should have just taken the advice that my brother always gave me and hit the deer. He's told me ever since I started driving to never swerve to avoid an animal.

Several times in the past few weeks I've been faced with that situation again and I've tried to learn from my past experience.

Twice, a deer ran out into the road directly in front of me, causing me to brake and nearly jump out of my skin.

Fortunately, both of those times, the deer also turned and ran back to where they came. But this time, I didn't swerve to avoid them. I was prepared to hit those deer if it came to that, and was just hoping to have the time to slow down enough to minimize the damage.

Other times, there have been deer in my path, but further down the road, where I've had plenty of time to slow down and prepare.

One of those times, it was an entire family - buck, doe and fawn, walking together carefully. That time, I actually paused to truly look at them and see the simple beauty in their journey.

Those deer are like the roadblocks in our lives. They represent the things that get in our way, make us feel overwhelmed, cause us anxiety, and threaten to prevent us from reaching our destination.

Some of these roadblocks are immediately in front of us and we are in imminent danger.

Others are further down the road, and we can see them, but also have the time to reflect on what their presence means and how it can affect our own journey.

Sometimes the hardest thing in life is to maintain our course when we are faced with these obstacles.

But it’s true...literally and figuratively, the key is not to swerve.

Slow down, take a deep breath and plow forward.

Tackle that tough project at work, have that hard conversation with your child, tell that toxic person in your life that you no longer need them, or make the choice to pursue a different career that makes you happy.

No matter what the obstacle is that you are facing, don't swerve from the course that you know you were meant to take, or from the things you believe in.

It's scary and difficult, but you are worth it.

And in the long run, there's a lot less collateral damage.

PS: For the deer hunters out there reading this, if the number of deer on the road this season is any indication, it's going to be a good year for you!!