Recently I took advantage of the warming weather here in Toronto to clear the unbelievable ice and snow build-up that had plastered my walkways and driveway over the previous weeks. Here are some of the lessons I learned from the ice that can help you to clear your path to success.

Observation #1. Sheer brute force sometimes won’t break the ice. I had to look for the angles and observe the edges. Sometimes the ice could be unexpectedly lifted from beneath.

Underlying Lesson — Sometimes when I do my internal work my ego slips into the driver’s seat and makes everything an “all or nothing” proposition. “Figure out your issue and be done with it,” says my ego. Yet what works with less effort is patience or looking for the small openings that can be made wider. Sometimes it’s more effective to go for the unexpected angle that provides the leverage needed to break apart the big chunk rather than only going full out in one spot.

Observation #2. Sometimes the ice is too hard to break apart without applying salt first.

Underlying Lesson — Salt in the wounds isn’t a bad thing. Salt, like pain, has a purpose. It’s needed to let air and light into the wound, to soften it up and dissolve it.

Observation #3. I had to pick the right tool. To break apart the big ice swaths with hard plastic snow shovel wouldn’t work. I had to go for the heavy, metal, flat edged hacking tool (I don’t even know what to call it, but I know what it does!).

Underlying Lesson — Set yourself up for success and choose the right tool for the job. How often do we use an inappropriate tool/friend/thought pattern/habit to create a breakthrough? Then we spend so much energy acting surprised when we don’t get the job done. Here’s a great question to ask: What do I need NOW to create THIS breakthrough and am I willing to go to the tool shed to get it and apply it?

Observation #4. Finish the job. My son last week had cleared some ice off the back stairs and tossed the chunks down in a stairwell where the drain is. When the big melting happens, those chunks could have created a back-up and a flood in my basement.

Underlying Lesson — Breaking the ice apart is wonderful, but not sufficient. See it through to completion as best as you are able. Otherwise you might end up with small mountains of hardened, clumped ice that are much harder to break apart than flat, smooth ice. Incompletions block our ability to fully release what we created the breakthrough for in the first place.

Observation #5. Working, salting, hacking, clearing the ice was hard work, but my path was now clear. With ice on the walk, I had to walk slowly, shuffling to keep my weight over my feet, not trusting the ground I was walking on. But with the ice now cleared I can walk safely. My feet are on the ground. I can walk more quickly without fear of slipping and breaking anything. My eyes are forward, not down.

Underlying Lesson - Our internal work is so vital and necessary. It clears our path so we can walk with ease, speed, power and be who we really are in the world. The fact that the ice will build-up again in future isn’t a concern. We have the tools to clear it!

Success Strategist, coach and best-selling author, Carolyn B. Ellis, is the founder of ThriveAfterDivorce.com, created for divorced people who want to stop struggling and start thriving. To get free tips on every aspect of living through a divorce, from legal issues to single parenting to getting back into the dating world, visit www.ThriveAfterDivorce.com.