How do you cope with obstacles and challenges?
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Posted: Mon 7th Apr 2025
6 min read
While we can’t plan for everything because nobody has the power to predict the future, we can make a reasonable assessment of the things that could potentially threaten or temporarily derail our best-laid plans.
But obstacles also allow time for reassessing and realigning our goals.
When we are on a path to achieving success, personally or professionally conquering goals, we all come up against obstacles from time to time.
Sometimes, it feels like all we are doing is battling obstacles
For example, you feel like life is all smooth sailing, everything is going really well and then out of nowhere something happens, completely outside of your control, that blindsides you and throws your plans into disarray. When this happens, we are all vulnerable to the effects of obstacles.
They stop some of us dead in our tracks, whilst others can figure out a way around them. In business if you want to succeed it’s crucial you find a path forward.
Find a path forward
In one sense, obstacles stopping us in our tracks can be a good thing.
They allow us to take a step back and reassess.
Do I still want this?
What do I need to do now?
Am I the obstacle?
What support do I need?
Asking yourself these questions can help you make a plan to move around or over whatever is in your way. Learning how to keep your mindset on track can help you deal with obstacles as they crop up.
It’s important to view them not as something that is there to stop you but as a challenge that can be overcome.
How do we create obstacles for ourselves?
It’s also important to remember that our thoughts, beliefs, behaviours, patterns and actions can all create obstacles for us.
If we have not yet harnessed the power of our minds and learnt how to keep limiting beliefs in check, we are more than likely creating obstacles for ourselves.
If you tell yourself over and over again that you can’t do something, you won’t do it. Your thoughts/beliefs in this scenario are your obstacle.
If we think we can’t do something, we then behave in a way that leads other people to believe we can’t do something. For others to have faith in us, we have to have faith in ourselves first.
If you tell yourself you can do something and that you will overcome these challenges, then you will find a way. It sounds simple but I can tell you from experience, it is that simple.
Give yourself some space to reassess
Sometimes, obstacles come at the right time to allow us to question whether what we are striving for is really what we truly want.
Sometimes, obstacle after obstacle can make us feel this way. A little tip if you are questioning whether something is for you or not, or if the goal you are chasing is what you really want: step back from it and give yourself some space to reassess.
This might take a week, a month, but it’s important to give yourself time. Ask yourself:
Do I still have a burning desire to achieve this?
Do I have the energy or the will to keep going?
If you do, then you will find a way.
Create a new action plan and get going
When you set goals and map out your plans, it’s important to explore potential roadblocks or obstacles that you think you might face in pursuit of your goals. For example, if you're setting up a new business, it's crucial that you explore your skills and carry out an audit of all of the skills needed to set up and run your proposed business.
Some important questions to include in this audit are:
Will you need bookkeeping/accountancy skills
Will you need legal knowledge or support?
Will you need assistance carrying out your market research?
If you need assistance in any of these areas, you should carry out a cost analysis so you know how much it will all cost.
If you have this done in the early planning stage, you will have some good building blocks in place and won't face any unpleasant surprises.
Carrying out a rigorous analysis at the planning stage means that if and when obstacles crop up, it's less likely you will be thrown off track. You’ll already have a plan to deal.
But remember, we can’t always predict the future and we never know what's coming down the track. Make a plan, be consistent and persist, build resilience and obstacles won’t always be the problem we think they are.
Check out my Mindset Shift programme if you think you are your own obstacle.
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