“The only use of an obstacle is to be overcome. All that an obstacle does with brave men is, not to frighten them, but to challenge them.” – Woodrow Wilson
Last week’s post revolved around the idea that whatever we focus on and believe about the world and about ourselves eventually becomes reality. If you really believe you’re a winner – or a loser – you’ll spend your life proving yourself right.
At the very end of the post I mentioned the idea that barriers are going to rise up and get in the way. The same theory applies. You can view barriers as horrible obstructions that are going to prevent you from getting what you want. You can complain about them, or obsess about how unfair or challenging they are. Or, you can view them as opportunities to learn and grow – things that, once overcome, will have challenged you to become something even better than you were before.
I will admit that I’m not close to perfect when it comes to viewing barriers as a positive. Very few people I’ve ever met (or even heard of) are. But we can get better. So try this: sit down and think about the critical barriers you or your business are facing over the next 6 months. Now, come up with 3 positive things that will happen when you overcome that barrier. Maybe it’s “increased profits” or “improved skills” or “improved confidence”. Maybe it’s just “I don’t have to spend time stressing about this anymore”. Whatever it is, write them down and keep them handy. When you want to mope around and focus on how hard life is, look at those 3 things and remember WHERE you’re trying to go.
Life is complicated, and much of it is hard to predict. Some barriers you’ll see coming. Some barriers will seem to come out of nowhere. The only certain things are that barriers will be there, and they provide the only path to improvement and reaching your goals. You can view them as something that holds you back – or you can view them as the only way forward. It’s up to you. 
