Leadership Lessons from the Deer Stand | Week 2
There’s something about returning to a deer stand you haven’t been in since last season.
You remember exactly why you picked that spot. You remember where the deer usually come from, where you’ve seen them crossing, and which shooting lanes give you the best opportunity for a clear shot.
You climb back into that stand, settle into your seat, and begin looking around.
And then you notice something.
That shooting lane you spent so much time clearing last year isn’t nearly as clear as you remember it being.
There’s a limb hanging down where there wasn’t one before. Some brush has grown up along the edge of the food plot. A few small trees that weren’t a problem last season have grown just enough to get in your way.
The woods have changed.
And now you’ve got some work to do.
If you’ve spent much time deer hunting, you know this is just part of it. The woods don’t stop growing simply because deer season is over.
You can spend hours cutting limbs, clearing brush, and getting everything exactly the way you want it. But leave it alone for several months, and you’ll probably find yourself doing some of that same work all over again.
That’s just how nature works.
And the more I’ve thought about it, the more I’ve realized how much that resembles life.
Because sometimes the things standing in our way today are things we thought we’d already taken care of yesterday.
The Woods Don’t Stop Growing
Think about what happens between deer seasons.
While we’re busy with work, family, and everything else life brings our way, the woods keep doing what woods do.
They grow.
Branches stretch farther. Brush gets thicker. Small trees get taller. Things that weren’t a problem before slowly begin working their way into our field of view.
It’s not something that happens overnight.
You probably wouldn’t even notice the difference if you climbed into the stand every single day.
But after several months away, it’s pretty obvious.
And isn’t that how distractions often work in our own lives?
They don’t usually show up all at once.
They creep in a little at a time.
Another commitment gets added to the calendar.
Another responsibility demands our attention.
Something that used to be a priority slowly gets pushed farther down the list.
We start putting off things we know we need to do.
And before we know it, we’re looking around wondering how everything became so cluttered.
I know I’ve experienced that in my own life.
As someone who enjoys building businesses, pursuing new ideas, and working on different projects, I can get excited about what comes next.
But I’ve also learned that every new opportunity requires something from me.
Usually time, energy, or attention.
And if I’m not careful, I can fill my schedule with so many things that I lose sight of the priorities I was trying to protect in the first place.
It’s a lot like those shooting lanes.
The problem isn’t necessarily that everything growing around us is bad.
Trees and brush are supposed to grow.
And opportunities, responsibilities, and commitments are part of life.
The problem comes when we allow those things to block our view of what matters most.
You Can’t Clear It Once and Forget About It
Here’s something else about maintaining a deer stand.
You don’t get to clear the shooting lanes once and assume they’ll stay that way forever.
It doesn’t work like that.
You can put in all the effort you want today, but eventually you’re going to have to go back and check on things.
And I think that’s an important lesson for leadership.
We tend to think of making changes as something we do once.
We decide we’re going to become more organized.
We decide we’re going to spend more time with our family.
We decide we’re going to become better listeners, develop better habits, or stop allowing certain distractions to control our time.
And for a while, we do pretty well.
We make progress.
Things feel more manageable.
Our priorities seem clear.
But then life gets busy again.
Before long, some of those old habits begin creeping back. We start making exceptions. We let little things slide.
And eventually, we find ourselves facing some of the same challenges we thought we’d already overcome.
That’s frustrating.
Especially when you’ve put in the work to make changes.
But I’ve come to believe that maintaining progress is just as important as making progress.
Think about that for a minute.
It’s one thing to establish good habits.
It’s another thing to maintain them.
It’s one thing to get your priorities in order.
It’s another thing to keep them there.
It’s one thing to build a strong relationship.
It’s another thing to continue investing in that relationship after the excitement of something new has worn off.
Just because you cleared something out of your life once doesn’t mean you’ll never have to clear it again.
Sometimes we have to go back and do a little maintenance.
Sometimes We Need a Different View
One thing I’ve learned about clearing shooting lanes is that what looks clear from the ground doesn’t always look clear from the stand.
You can stand underneath a tree, look out toward the food plot, and think everything looks pretty good.
But climb fifteen or twenty feet into the stand, and suddenly you notice limbs you couldn’t see before.
From that elevated position, the view is different.
And that different perspective shows you what still needs attention.
I think we need those moments in life, too.
Times when we step away from the everyday noise and take an honest look at where we are.
Not where we intended to be.
Not where we were six months ago.
But where we are right now.
Are we spending our time on the things we say matter most?
Are we giving the people in our lives the attention they deserve?
Are we continuing to grow as leaders, or have we become comfortable doing things the same way we’ve always done them?
Are there distractions we’ve allowed to take up space that should be reserved for something more important?
Those aren’t always easy questions to answer.
And sometimes we don’t particularly like what we discover.
But we can’t address something we’re unwilling to recognize.
Just like we can’t clear a limb out of a shooting lane until we’ve identified where it’s blocking our view.
Not Everything Needs to Be Cut Down
Now, here’s something else worth considering.
When you’re clearing shooting lanes, you don’t go into the woods and cut down every tree you see.
At least you shouldn’t.
You identify what needs to be removed and what needs to stay.
Some trees provide cover. Some help conceal your stand. Others are an important part of the habitat.
Removing everything would actually work against what you’re trying to accomplish.
The goal isn’t to eliminate everything around you.
The goal is to create a clear path where you need one.
And I think that distinction matters in leadership and life.
Sometimes when we realize we’ve become overwhelmed, our first reaction is to start eliminating everything.
We want to cancel commitments, abandon projects, or walk away from responsibilities.
And occasionally, some of those things really do need to go.
But not always.
Sometimes we don’t need to eliminate something.
We need to manage it differently.
Maybe we need better boundaries.
Maybe we need to delegate a responsibility.
Maybe we need to stop saying yes to every opportunity that comes along.
Or maybe we simply need to recognize that something good has begun taking too much of our attention away from something more important.
Not everything growing in your life is a problem. But even good things can become obstacles when they’re growing in the wrong place.
That’s something I have to remind myself of.
Because I don’t believe the answer to an overcrowded life is always doing less.
Sometimes the answer is becoming more intentional about what deserves our attention.
What Happens When We Don’t Maintain the View?
Let’s go back to that deer stand for a minute.
Imagine you’ve done everything else right.
You’ve selected a good location.
You’ve watched the trail cameras.
You’ve planted the food plot.
You’ve practiced with your rifle or bow.
You’re sitting in the stand, waiting for that trophy buck you’ve been hoping to see.
And then he steps out.
Right where you expected him to.
Except there’s a problem.
A limb has grown across your shooting lane.
You can see the deer, but you don’t have a clear, safe shot.
All that preparation, and now an obstacle you could have addressed beforehand is standing between you and the opportunity.
That’s a frustrating situation.
And sometimes something similar happens in leadership.
An opportunity presents itself, but we’re so distracted that we don’t recognize it.
Someone on our team needs our attention, but we’re too busy to notice.
Our children want to spend time with us, but we keep putting it off because there’s always something else that needs to be done.
We get so focused on accomplishing more that we lose sight of the very reasons we wanted to succeed in the first place.
And the hard part is that those things don’t always announce themselves.
Sometimes we don’t realize what we’ve missed until the moment has already passed.
That’s why maintaining a clear view matters.
Not because we can prevent every obstacle or control every circumstance.
We can’t.
But because some obstacles are within our ability to address, if we’re willing to take the time to recognize them.
It’s Time to Check Your Shooting Lanes
As deer season gets underway, hunters across the country are climbing back into stands they haven’t visited in months.
They’re checking the view, trimming branches, clearing brush, and making sure their shooting lanes are ready.
It’s part of preparing for the season.
But I wonder what would happen if we approached our lives with that same mindset.
What if we took time every so often to evaluate what’s growing around us?
Not just the bad things.
The good things, too.
The responsibilities we’ve taken on.
The habits we’ve developed.
The commitments we’ve made.
The distractions we’ve allowed to creep back into our schedules.
What if we were willing to make some adjustments before those things began blocking our view of what matters most?
Maybe it’s time to revisit a priority you’ve neglected.
Maybe it’s time to have a conversation you’ve been putting off.
Maybe it’s time to take a closer look at how you’re spending your days.
Or maybe it’s time to simply sit quietly for a little while and think about where you’re headed.
Whatever it is, don’t assume that because your shooting lanes were clear last season, they’re still clear today.
Things grow.
Circumstances change.
Life happens.
And maintaining a clear view requires ongoing attention.
You can’t expect this season’s opportunities to remain visible through last season’s preparation.
Sometimes you have to climb back into the stand, take a good look around, and clear out what’s grown up while you weren’t paying attention.
That’s another lesson I’ve learned from the deer stand.
And one I’m still working on myself.
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Something to Think About
What’s grown back into your life that’s blocking your view of what matters most?
Is it a distraction, a habit, a responsibility, or perhaps something good that’s simply taking up too much room?
And what could you do this week to begin clearing that shooting lane?
I’d love to hear your thoughts.
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This is Week 2 of Leadership Lessons from the Deer Stand, an eight-week series by Kris Logsdon exploring leadership, life, faith, and personal growth through experiences and observations from the deer woods.
Join me every Thursday for another lesson from the deer stand.
