“Obstacles don’t have to stop you. 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.” Michael Jordon
Do you sometimes feel like you are competing in one of those gladiator contests where you cannot see the finish line? At every corner there is a brick wall that you need to climb over or a massive hurdle that you need to jump, just in order to move forward in the right direction?
Frustrating much?!
My coaching team and I are currently preparing a group of figure skaters to compete at the 2012 Junior World Challenge Cup in Sweden next month. Yesterday during training, we felt this pain! The good thing is we have been here before and we know how to pull ourselves out of it.
What I love the most is that when you present a challenge to a group of achievers, they almost always find a way to overcome the hurdles and finish up stronger than they started.
Achievers know how to first of all embrace challenges and knock down obstacles when they are thrown their way. In fact, real achievers can see the obstacles coming, so they prepare and in most instances will become even more determined to succeed than what they otherwise would have been without the obstacle there in the first place!
I personally believe that we need to get inspired by the obstacles that lie right in front of us. Anyone who has ever achieved anything extraordinary has had to encounter many obstacles on their journey. The obstacles are what make the end result more rewarding. Let’s face it, if it were easy everybody would do it, right?
Obstacles create opportunity, they are the beginning of a breakthrough and if you can endure the pain associated with breaking through you will almost always find a new level. When I talk about finding a new level it may be finding a new strength inside you that you didn’t know existed, increasing your emotional fitness and mental toughness or just simply reminding you of what you are truly capable of.
There are always going to be tough times around the corner, no matter how great life is. But it is how we deal with those tough times that really shape us. Some of my greatest moments and most fulfilling wins have come from the biggest obstacles that I have had to overcome.
So I encourage you to really tackle those obstacles in front of you, with everything you have got! Find a way to make your dreams a reality and get inspired when life throws you a lemon.
I want to leave you with a few strategies that I use when overcoming massive obstacles:
- Remind yourself that you are more than this moment. You are more than this challenge that has been put in front of you and you have all the tools and resources inside you to get through, you just have to use them.
- Put a plan of action in place and make sure you have found the best possible strategy to overcome your obstacle. Test it and go!
- Keep moving forward, you will be surprized that the resources you need will find you if you just keep moving towards your outcome .Momentum and progress is a very powerful tool, it makes you feel alive and on track!
- FEED YOUR MIND! Read books, find mentors and role models who have achieved what you are trying to achieve. They will have valuable insights to make your journey easier and QUICKER! Do not try to re-invent the wheel.
- You are a product of your own environment, so surround yourself with positive people who are successfully knocking down their obstacles and achieving great things.
- During the process it will be tough and it is highly likely that if the obstacle is truly worth breaking through, you will need to try 4,5,6 or even 10 times to achieve what you are looking for. This can be mentally draining and you may start to doubt yourself, your plan or even the goal that you are trying to achieve. What I like to do in these situations, is go and help somebody who is worse off than me. The reason I like to do this is because first of all it feeds my soul and puts things back into perspective, but more importantly it reminds me of the strength that I have within me and the value that I have to offer. If you can give and add value to others when you are in your worst shape, your strength and solution will find its way back to you.
- Embrace the uncertainty of it all and keep your eye on the end result! Know that fear and doubt is always going to show up, it is testing you! Accept this and know that the solutions are there right in front of you waiting; you just have to remove the fog to see the solution.
If all else fails, as my friends in Cambodia would say…..”Close your eyes and jump, your feet have a way of finding the ground again”.
All the best!
Aleisha
