Are you feeling challenged by obstacles? Are you clear as to what that "thing" is that is preventing or hindering your progress?
I
view any obstacle that gets in my way as an opportunity to learn
something new. It's not always an easy lesson. And sometimes the
learning of the lesson takes time, patience, and reflection.
Changing
the way we think about obstacles effects our success rate for as the
Zen Buddhists say, "The obstacle is the path." To begin, we have to
identify the type and source of the obstacle. Ask yourself: Do you view
the obstacle metaphorically as a pebble, a rock, or a boulder? Is it
external or internal?
External obstacles are those things outside
of your control, such as environment, money, physical limitations. Yet,
because they are external does not mean you should give up. What is
always in your control is how you choose to respond (cognitively) not
react (emotionally) to the challenge.
Internal obstacles are
things such as fear, self-doubt, and what I call your Habitudes --
Patterns of thought and behavior affecting our attitudes towards life;
habitual ways of thinking and acting that may or may not serve you.
Our
beliefs and thoughts about a situation affect our reaction to it. The
way we think about things can actually give things more meaning than
they actually deserve. By giving meaning to things, we give them power
in our lives. That's why I asked you to think metaphorically about the
obstacle. What is its size? How easily, based on that size - pebble,
rock, boulder -- can you remove it from your pathway?
"Obstacles
don't have to stop you," said Michael Jordan. "If you run into a wall,
don't turn around and give up. Figure out how to climb it, go through
it, or work around it."