For many of us Fall seems like the season of obstacles. As we get back in gear following a lovely summer, check in with ourselves in relationship to our goals and pick up steam, we may find that the terrain has changed and we may run into a roadblock or two.
When you hit an obstacle, what do you do? Do you go into victim mode (fear): “I’m doing everything I can, why is this happening to me now!? Or growing mode (freedom):. “Working though this will support me in having the skills I need to move forward faster than if I hide out and try to avoid this.”
When we choose not to deal with an obstacle on our path to the life we want then fear is in charge. Fear will tell us we don’t ‘deserve’ this problem or we look to take it as a ‘sign’ that we shouldn’t be on this path in the first place.
Overcoming Obstacles
Overcoming an obstacle always means learning, growing and risking. Fear is working overtime to keep us safe so instinctively taking any kind of risk feels like a really bad or even scary idea.
If you don’t get your fear in check, you begin to ‘awfulize’ and to consider all the things that could go wrong and the potential for disappointment in ourselves grows and sucks the air out of the room. We use even the thought of it not panning out perfectly to serve as evidence that we don’t have the mettle for success. Now let’s take a look at a different approach. When fear is not in control we see opportunity and possibility and a chance to practice using the skills we are developing in a real world environment.
Road blocks are an opportunity to further clarify and commit more fully to your vision. You want to know how committed you are to your vision? A road block will tell you in a heart beat. There’s no more talking about your vision and what you are ‘going to do sometime’. There’s no more waiting for the perfect time or the right moment. The self-deception is over. There’s a road block between you and your dreams. You decide if that road block stops you. No one else.
When we allow roadblocks or obstacles to stop us, we are allowing fear to determine our progress. When we give obstacles power over us, we are saying we are victims of circumstance and are helpless to change them. When we think obstacles define our path, we are not connected to our vision, to our passion or to our purpose. When we are clear why we do what we do, obstacles become a mere formality. They become a challenging game, an opportunity to learn more about who we are and show us how to become more fearless.
What seeming roadblocks are on your path? Are you viewing that roadblock from a place of anxiety or opportunity? If you were fearless, how would that obstacle appear?
