Category Archives: obstacles

“When obstacles arise, you can change…”

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“When obstacles arise, you can change direction to reach your goal; you do not change your decision to get there.”

—Zig Ziglar, 20th Century American author and motivational speaker

Image fromUnsplash by Mick Haupt

The navigation app WAZE was acquired by Google in 2013 for approximately 1.3 billion dollars, to complement its own mapping service.

The navigation app sector as a whole was reported to have generated 16.2 billion in revenue in 2022 with projections to reach 36.6 billion by 2028.

Clearly, people worldwide see great value in getting where they want to go and avoiding all the obstacles that could slow them down.

EXERCISE:

Where in your life have your let obstacles stop you from pursuing an important goal?

How would embracing your ability to pivot in new directions help sustain your motivation to press on to get where you want to go?

Never quit something with great long-term potential just because

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“Never quit something with great long-term potential just because you can’t deal with the stress of the moment.”

—Seth Godin, American author and former dot com business executive

Image from Unsplash by Etienne Girardet

Timeouts work as well for adults as they do for kids.

How many times have you hit a wall on an important activity and simply given up?

Consider the idea that your current thinking is only short term and limited.

At these moments, we often stop looking beyond the stressors of our current reality to look over the horizons of our apparent barriers.

What’s called for in these times is a break-through.

To have a breakthrough in thinking and acting, it’s actually necessary to have barriers to break through.

EXERCISE:

How can you begin seeing barriers and stressors in your life as clues to uncover and overcome on your journey toward greater success?

How might you discover that the stressors and obstacles are the way?

“Don’t give up on your dreams. Your ability to persist and stay the course is being tested. Keep at it!”

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“Don’t give up on your dreams. Your ability to persist and stay the course is being tested. Keep at it!”

—Author Unknown

Image from Unsplash by Bo Zhang

How much of the Paris Olympics did you see? With three rainy days during our recent Pocono vacation this year, we saw a bunch.

Something we noticed was the number of athletes who have the Olympic rings tattooed on various parts of their bodies.

Clearly, the Olympic experience is a memory they all wanted to capture and keep for the rest of their lives.

EXERCISE:

Where in your life do you dream of greatness?

How successful have your efforts been to date?

Where have you lost the fire and given up on your dreams?

How might the obstacles that are stopping you be just a test to challenge you to press on and stay the course?

Tend to the small things. More people are defeated by blisters than mountains

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“Tend to the small things. More people are defeated by blisters than mountains.”

—Kevin Kelly, Founding Executive of Wired magazine

Image from Unsplash by Alexander Grey

How often do you make mountains out of molehills?

Where do you tend to overreact or exaggerate the severity of a situation and get stopped in your tracks?

Obstacles in life are as predictable as taking our next breath. Unfortunately, many occur like an elephant sitting on our chest and we panic before we can take our next step.

How would a more measured and objective view of your current challenges help you step over and climb the hurdles facing you?

Remember: All mountain climbers experience blisters.

EXERCISE:

Where in your world are you making mountains out of molehills?

What small things can and will you tend to today to get over these humps?

“Power is influence over external events. Peace is influence over internal events.”

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“Power is influence over external events. Peace is influence over internal events.”

—James Clear, Author of Atomic Habits

Image from Unsplash by Belinda Fewings

When was the last time you felt powerless?

Take a close look at times in your personal and professional worlds when your progress was stalled or stopped. Examine both big and small situations to see how you responded.

When external events don’t go your way it’s often helpful to go within to grant yourself a sense of peace.

Your inner world can provide smoother sailing and open roads even when obstacles block your external paths.

EXERCISE:

Mindfully explore your ability to experience peace and power. When you find the external doors of life closed, notice how your inner world can help you find more peaceful paths forward.

Friday Review Obstacles

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Friday Review: Obstacles

What do you do when faced with obstacles? Here are a few related posts you may have missed.

“There are plenty of obstacles in your path. Don’t allow yourself to become one of them.”

 

 

 

 

“When the path is blocked, back up and see more of the way.”

 

 

“Your excuses will never be as good as the story of how you got it done.”

 

 

 

 

Your excuses will never be as good as the story of how you got it done

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“Your excuses will never be as good as the story of how you got it done.”

—Chris Brogan, professional keynote speaker

Image from Unsplash by Brett Jordan

A wise teacher from my past once said, “A good excuse with no results is still no results.” Giving up on a worthy effort even with what seems like a good reason is easy to do. After all, we did try, and things just didn’t work out.

Stop for a moment and ask yourself how often others have overcome the obstacle that appears to be in your way.  How did they get around it, over it, or through it? What resolve and more novel approaches did they take to achieve what for you is a dead end?

What examples do you have from your own life in which you rose above your excuses to accomplish something remarkable? Note how much fun you have telling the story of how you got it done.

EXERCISE:

Where are you currently making excuses for your own lack of results? How can and will you channel the hero within to overcome all the internal and external obstacles to tell the story of your eventual victory?

Consider check out the book Everything is Figureoutable by Marie Forleo for a fresh and fun perspective on this topic.

“When the path is blocked, back up and see more of the way.”

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“When the path is blocked, back up and see more of the way.”

—Mark Nepo, Author of The Book of Awakening

Image from Unsplash by Mike Cox

How familiar are you with the game of golf? To make courses more difficult, golf architects do numerous nefarious things to challenge and often frustrate both the weekend warrior and even the pros. Beyond making a course longer, various types of obstacles are built into most holes to make putting that little ball in the hole more difficult.

Of all the obstacles that cause the most consternation is the sand trap, which is now referred to as a bunker for political correctness.

Sometimes upon entering one, our ball lies so close to the lip that forward movement with the next shot is impossible. In such circumstances the player must step back from the situation to realize the only path forward is to hit the ball sideways, backwards, or even go back to the tee and accept a penalty stroke.

EXERCISE:

Where are your paths blocked in either your personal or professional life?  How would stepping back from these situations help you see your way forward more clearly?

Friday Review: Obstacles

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Friday Review: Obstacles

What do you do when faced with obstacles? Here are a few related posts you may have missed.

 

“There are plenty of obstacles in your path. Don’t allow yourself to become one of them.”

 

 

 

 

“I am not afraid of storms, for I am learning how to sail my ship.”

 

 

 

 

“Sometimes the door closes for us so we might turn and see an open gate to a wider opportunity.”

 

 

 

“Sometimes the door closes for us so we might turn and see an open gate to a wider opportunity.

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“Sometimes the door closes for us so we might turn and see an open gate to a wider opportunity.”

—Brendon Burchard, NYT best-selling author & high-performance coach

Image from Unsplash by Shane Rounce

Countless doors are closing in response to the global pandemic. To what extent have these efforts to contain and combat this crisis impacted your professional world?

What obstacles are in the way of you living life and conducting business as usual?

In what ways have you and your communities been forced to find other means of pursuing and achieving the outcomes you desire? In what way are closed doors forcing you outside your comfort zone, to see alternative open gates of wider opportunity?

EXERCISE:

Consider discussing today’s quote with members of your work and personal communities, to discover what new gates you can open together.